Solar Cell Efficiency Increased with Popcorn Ball Design
Summary posted by Meridian on 4/13/2008
Source: AZoNano.com
Author: n/a
Researchers from the University of Washington in the U.S. have developed dye-sensitized solar cells with a nanoscale “popcorn-ball design” that can better manipulate light and convert solar energy to electricity with double the efficiency of conventional dye-sensitized solar cells. The article says that dye-sensitized solar cells are “more flexible, easier to manufacture and cheaper than existing solar technologies,” but are limited by poor conversion efficiency. To enhance efficiency, the researchers focused on developing cells with a surface composed of smaller grains, which have greater surface area per volume and can absorb more solar rays. The researchers made grains about 15 nanometers across and then clumped them together into agglomeration about 300 nanometers across. The article says: “The larger balls scatter incoming rays and force the light to travel a longer distance within the solar cell. The balls' complex internal structure, meanwhile, creates a surface area of about 1,000 square feet for each gram of material. This internal surface is coated with a dye that captures the light.” The researchers report that the popcorn-ball design improved the performance of the solar cells by more than double their previous performance. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
The original article may still be available at www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=6245
As tagged by Meridian Institute:
Energy:
Solar
Regions:
North America
Stakeholders:
Academia
3rd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnology
-- Seminario Naotecnologias Cuba (7/29/2010) The 3rd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, organized by the Office of the Scientific Advisor to the State Council of the Republic of Cuba and the Center for Advanced Cuban Studes (CEAC), will take place from September 6-10, 2010, in Havana, Cuba. The aim of the conference is to open new paths of cooperation for the development of CEAC, consolidate existent and emerging networks in the country, and provide elements for the design of a national strategy in this field. [More]
Super-sizing a Cancer Drug Minimizes Side Effects
-- MIT News (7/29/2010) Scientists at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) have designed a new version of the drug cisplatin, one of the first chemotherapy drugs given to patients diagnosed with cancer, that spares the kidneys, allowing doctors to use higher doses. [More]
An Asphalt Pact Cut Fumes—& Created A Model
-- New Haven Independent (7/29/2010) At a recent conference hosted by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), convened to talk about the potential health hazards in the nanotechnology industry, a successful partnership between government, industry, and workers to tackle worker safety in the asphalt industry was looked to as a possible model for addressing worker safety in the nanotechnology industry. [More]
Nanomagnets Remove Pathogens from Blood
-- Nanowerk (7/28/2010) Researchers from the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering of the ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have demonstrated a novel use of nanomagnets to rapidly and selectively remove heavy metal ions, overdosed steroid drugs and proteins from human blood. [More]
Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here.
Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.
