Luminescent plastic doubles the energy efficiency of solar cells
Luminescent plastic doubles the energy efficiency of solar cells
According to a recent report by the Massachusetts institute of technology (MIT) technology review, traditional solar cells are clunky and inefficient. Now, American scientists are using only a thin layer of plastic to concentrate sunlight on a solar cell made of gallium arsenide, doubling the energy efficiency of solar cells. This method not only reduces the cost of solar cells, but also gets the flexible solar cells in many fields.
Scientists have previously it has been proved that this method can be used for single piece of solar cells, but they plan to make more large pieces of plastic sheet, dotted with its multiple small solar arrays. When the sun shines on the plastic sheet, it is absorbed by a dye that traps the sun's rays. Because this is a kind of luminous dye, release it would absorb light, but the forward part of the release is limited within the plastic sheets, so that the sun will go, bouncing around inside the plastic until arrived in solar cells. In view of the dye only absorbs part of sunlight, in order to increase energy output, scientists in plastic sheet added a reflective material, the dye can be unable to absorb the sun's rays into solar cells.
The leader of the research, the university of Illinois at urbana-champaign, materials science and engineering, and chemistry professor John Rogers said: "the latest methods or can make more small solar panels to provide more electricity, or by reducing the number of photovoltaic material required, make cheaper solar panels. At the moment, we have to get the same efficiency by applying the active solar cells on the surface, and the cost of the new method is lower than that."
Before the team developed an innovative method, can be made to adapt to the irregular surface of the flexibility and extensibility of solar cells, new research method can be compatible with the technology. The combination of these two approaches is expected to find new USES for the low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells. For example, it can be used to provide electricity for soldiers' armor. Flexible batteries can also be installed on the wings of small drones to charge airborne batteries to increase their flight time. The technology could even be used to charge tablets and other portable electronic devices.
New dye plastic film increased ability to concentrate sunlight only 10 times, while Rogers Semprius company founded team with another method will be the ability to focus the rays of improved 100 times, is really "dwarfed". But the latter need very large concentrator and a tracking system to make the battery is always facing the sun, the system may be able to provide low-cost solar power grid, but is not practical for solar helmets or laptop computer. On the contrary, the dye coated plastic fiber is thin and light, which can absorb sunlight from different angles and save the tracking system.
