Light to Electricity – Through Plastic Solar Cells

What’s next for the solar cell industry?
Organic solar cells produced easily and inexpensively as thin films that can be widely used to generate electricity!

The problem?

Manipulating the carbon-based materials to reliably form the proper structure at the nanoscale that can efficiently convert light to electricity.

The goal?

Develop cells made from low-cost plastics that will transform at least 10 percent of the sunlight that they absorb into usable electricity and can be easily manufactured.

Enlighten me on plastic solar cells…

Plastic solar cells are generally made by blending two materials together in a thin film, then baking them in a process called ‘annealing’ to improve their performance. In the process, bubbles and channels form much as they would in a cake batter. The bubbles and channels affect how well the cell converts light into electricity and how much of the electric current actually gets to the wires leading out of the cell. The exact structure of the bubbles and channels is critical to the solar cell’s performance.

The potential?

For a start nanostructured plastic solar cells can be incorporated into purses or backpacks to charge cellular phones or mp3 players, but eventually one would hope they would be able to make an important contribution to the electrical power supply as well!

via: University Of Washington News