Going Green Got Easier With UCLA’s New Flexible Transparent Solar Cells

A team of researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has developed a new transparent solar cell that can generate electricity while allowing people to see through the cells. The cells can be used in windows to generate electricity without compromising the aesthetics. Using transparent solar cells in large buildings will definitely increase the deployment area and will thus increase generated power.


UCLA Transparent Polymer Solar Cells

The transparent solar cells are made of near-infrared light-sensitive polymer. The polymer solar cells (PSC) use infrared light, instead of visible light, to produce electricity. The polymer or plastic photovoltaic cells are 70% transparent to the human eye.

The polymer solar cells use “silver nanowire composite films as the top transparent electrode.” The incorporation of polymer and silver nanowire enabled the production of polymer solar cells at lower cost. The transparent solar cells achieved 4% power conversion efficiency in tests.

Scientists are expecting that the polymer solar cells will see broader applications because of their low manufacturing cost and flexibility. The research lead, Professor Yang, said, “These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications.”

The findings are published in ACS Nano.

Source: UCLA

Manoj

Manoj Pravakar Saha is an Editor of TheTechJournal. He was one the founding members of TheTechJournal. He was working for the telecom gear-maker Ericsson before joining TheTechJournal team. Manoj searches for meaning in this chaotic world. Find him on Google+.

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