7 replies to this topic

[Green Energy]

The futur of solar cells may come from Swiss.. New record is at 20.4% for converting sunlight into electricity. (preceding was 18.7%)

http://www.scienceda...30118064733.htm

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Coal- ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Thanks for that positive post-we need as many good news stories as we can get.

[E3 wise]

The future of thin film solar is once again looking brighter, thin film offers the ability to truly become energy independent by being able to cover not just roofs, but any surface economically to provide a zero footprint for any structure.  Likewise the amount of material used in manufacture is much less and water is also significantly saved.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Similar projects mentioned in these threads.
http://www.altenergy...ent-solar-film/

http://www.altenergy...uture-of-solar/

http://www.altenergy...-on-solar-film/

[Phil]

The only question I have is what is the reliability/longevity?  Unless it's 25 years like silicon it's just an interesting story.

Great news if it is as reliable!

[johnygreen]

This is really a breakthrough in solar energy. If it is really reliable and long lasting cells like the silicon wafer solar cells then it is really very good for green energy. The most difficult part of the solar cells is that they are very costly and out of the reach of common people.

[Hydrotopia]

I believe those materials are toxic.

[GlewEngineering]

Here's some interesting information regarding solar panel efficiency that we've explored in one of our blogs. You can view the entire blog at

http://www.glewengin...ergy-Efficiency

In a recent publication by Lane Martin, a professor of materials science and engineering at Illinois, he claimed that his research created “a fundamentally new way of approaching and [more efficiently utilizing the solar spectrum]”ⁱ By combining aspects of condensed matter physics, semiconductor device engineering, and photochemistry Martin’s group designed a new photocatalyst that replaces the silicone base with TiO₂ (titanium dioxide) along with a variety of other oxides that enhance absorption of visible light which in turn leads to more efficient utilization of the solar spectrum.ⁱⁱ This new material overcomes the main obstacle in current solar panels which is that they poorly absorb visible light because they are known as wide band gap materials. TiO₂ has high chemical stability, is non-toxic, is normally fairly inexpensive and has a very large band gap alignment. One of the materials that is paired with TiO₂ is SrRuO₃ which is known for its unusual electronic structure, which unexpectedly led to high absorption across the entire visible spectrum and reflected very little of the light energy that it came in contact with. SrRuO₃ is a very complicated substance to profile because of its unique properties. It possesses metallic-like temperature dependence of its resistivity and ferromagnetism as well as its ability to be used as a conducting electrode in oxide heterostructures.ⁱⁱⁱ This material cannot be called a metal though because its electron structures are a combination of complex electronic density states and electron correlations.

http://www.glewengineering.com/