Researchers Double Efficiency of See-Through Cells

        Researchers at UCLA have developed a new type of see-through solar cell that could be used applicably on windows, car sunroofs, smartphone screens and other transparent surfaces that can harvest energy from the sun. First developed in the year 2012, the researchers currently have almost doubled the efficiency of the solar cell, approaching the subject of commercial visibility very closely.
        The solar device is compromised of two thin polymer solar cells that can be made in shades from light green and gray to brown, which helps to camouflage them within the colors of surfaces on buildings and other structures. The solar cells absorb more light, harvest light and use the energy from a wider point-of-view, and incorporates a variety of materials between the two solar cells to reduce energy loss. The technology had previously had an efficiency level of only 4% but the UCLA team has brought the efficiency level to 7.3%.

Recyclable Solar Cells Created using Trees

       Researches have developed recyclable and efficient solar cells using natural substrates from plants like trees. Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports about how the solar cells can be recycled quickly in water at the end of their lifecycle. The team's solar cells are capable of reaching a power conversion efficiency of 2.7%.
       During the recycling process, the solar cells are immersed in water at room temperature, and within minutes, the CNC substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated can be separated easily into its major components.
       Georgia Tech College of Engineering Professor Bernard Kippelen, who led the study, said the method opens up the door for a truly recyclable, sustainable and renewable solar cell technology. "The development and performance of organic substrates in solar technology continues to improve, providing engineers with a good indication of future applications," Kippelen, who is also the director of Georgia Tech's Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE), said in a statement. "But organic solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise we are simply solving one problem, less dependence on fossil fuels, while creating another, a technology that produces energy from renewable sources but is not disposable at the end of its lifecycle."
       Current organic solar cells are fabricated on glass or plastic, but neither is easily recyclable or very eco-friendly. If cells fabricated on glass were to break during the manufacturing process, the material would be difficult to dispose of. The team's cells are made from wood and are green, renewable and sustainable. "Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10%, levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass or petroleum-based substrates," said Kippelen. The US forest product industry projects that tens of millions of tons of cellulose nanomaterials from wood could be produced once large-scale production begins in the next 5 years.
        Another new manufacturing method for producing solar cells was unveiled in the journal Advanced Materials in February. MIT researchers described a new process that allows scientists to passivate silicon at room temperatures, which helps with the high price of manufacturing computer chips and solar cells. In the MIT team's process, they decompose organic vapors over wires heated to 572 degrees Fahrenheit. Heating these wires requires less power than illuminating an ordinary light bulb. This process not only opens the door for cheaper solar panels, but also new applications for computer chips.

Source : Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com -- Your Universe Online

5 innovations that will CHANGE the world! not the IPHONE

According to the reports of REN21 (Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century), it was shown that global investments in renewable energy jumped 32% bringing an all time high of $211 billion, despite the current downturn of the economy. However, in many regions there is a big competition between the two odds of renewable & coal energy. But with the advancement of solar technology increasing every year with the latest solar development researched currently at MIT, it is likely coal will be going against it anytime soon. Here is a list of 5 development that could make a big impact towards our society as well as our economy that could also be safely executed against the burning of coal.
1. Nano-templated molecules that store energy
A professor named Jeffrey Grossman, associated with MIT, discovered and created a new molecule called azobenzene  that uses carbon nanotubes structuring the molecules that locks in and stores clean solar thermal energy. These molecules so called, "azobenzen", converts solar energy to a density of a lithium ion battery. Like what people say, "kill two birds with one stone", you have yourself a object that converts and stores infinite energy. 
2.Printing solar cells on possibly anything
A team led by Professor Karen Gleason discovered a way to imprint a solar cell into just about anything you could think of, using low temperature and vapor as opposed to liquid solutions. The paper imprinted with the solar cell is also highly durable withstanding it being folded a 1000 times with no change in performance. Imagine having solar cells imprinted all over your shirt and having to charge your mobile phone that remains in your pocket, that would be pretty awesome don't you think? 

Photo by Patrick Gillooly, Courtesy of MIT

3. Solar Thermal Power in flat panels

Professor Gang Chen discovered a whole new way to make solar power. Unlike ordinary solar panels that has been going on for some time now, Professor Gang Chen discovered a revolutionary new way to produce solar energy -micro solar thermal- in which theoretically could produce 8 times the efficiency of the world's best solar panel that are being manufactured today. Therefore, having it be a thermal process, Chen's system can heat up from ambient light even on a cloudy day. It is said that these panels can be made with very inexpensive and affordable material that could be appealing to many investors.

4. A virus to improve nano-solar cell efficiency

MIT graduate recently engineered a virus called "M13", that could effectively convert solar energy at a  more efficient rate, jumping from 8% to 10.6% efficency, boosting the rate to almost nearly one-third. The virus acts as a matching tool that pattern the nanotubes properly at a faster rate. 

5. Transparent solar cell could turn windows into power plants

See yourself in a skyscraper built with glass that could bind with the sun's rays while keeping their transparency? Well unfortunately several of these attempts had been made, resulting in terrible efficiency bringing it down less that 1% and also resulted in blocking too much light, depicting the glass useless. However, Professor electrical engineering professor Vladimir Bulvoic has made a breakthrough by engineering a new transparent layer of PV cells into the window glazing. The MIT team believes it can reach a high efficiency of 12% at a reduced cost over thin film solar cells. A team of researchers from UCLA had also developed a new kind of solar cell that is both efficient and transparent called the polymer solar cell that is almost 70% transparent and could generate energy through infrared light.

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