THIS MONTH'S FEATURE ARTICLE
Solar Cells Created Using Organic Materials
May 2013
Solar cells are just like leaves, capturing the sunlight and turning it into energy. It’s fitting that they can now be made partially from trees.
Solar cells made from cellulose nanomaterials are green, renewable and sustainable.The technology is published in the journal Scientific Reports, the latest open-access journal available from the Nature Publishing Group.
With a nod of thanks to Rick Reiner and Alan Rudie from the U.S. Forest Service- Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) for providing CNC materials, the researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials. The CNC substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent, enabling light to pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor. During the recycling process, the solar cells are simply immersed in water at room temperature. Within only minutes, the CNC substrate dissolves and the solar cell can be separated easily into its major components.
Georgia Tech College of Engineering Professor Bernard Kippelen led the study and points out that his team’s project opens the door for a truly recyclable, sustainable and renewable solar cell technology.
“The development and performance of organic substrates in solar technology continues to improve, providing engineers with a good indication of future applications,” said Prof. Kippelen, who is also the director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE). “But organic solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise we are simply solving one problem, less dependence on fossil fuels, while creating another, a technology that produces energy from renewable sources but is not disposable at the end of its lifecycle.”
To date, organic solar cells have been typically fabricated on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable, and petroleum- based substrates are not very eco-friendly. For instance, if cells fabricated on glass were to break during manufacturing or installation, disposal of the useless materials would be difficult. Paper substrates are better for the environment, but have shown limited performance because of high surface roughness or porosity. However, cellulose nanomaterials made from wood are green, renewable and sustainable. The substrates have a low surface roughness of only about two nanometers.
“Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10 percent, levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass or petroleum-based substrates,” said Prof. Kippelen. The group plans to achieve this by optimizing the optical properties of the solar cell’s electrode.
Jeffrey Youngblood, an associate professor in the Purdue School of Materials Engineering, collaborated with Prof. Kippelen on the research.
A provisional patent on the technology has been filed with the U.S. Patent Office.
There’s also another positive impact of using natural products to create cellulose nanomaterials. The nation’s forest product industry projects that tens of millions of tons of them could be produced once large-scale production begins, potentially in the next five years.
The research is the latest project by COPE, which studies the use and development of printed electronics. Last year the center created the first-ever completely plastic solar cell.
This research was funded in part through the Center for Interface Science: Solar Electric Materials, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences; by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research; by the Office of Naval Research; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service. Funding for CNC substrate processing was provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service.
This article reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology.
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Solar Cells Created Using Organic Materials
May 2013
Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants.
April 2013
Working to advance biomass as a leading source for more efficient drop-in biofuels, bio-power and animal feed, a Kansas State University biochemical engineer will help lead new research as part of a national collaboration.
March 2013
The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a concept for roadway illumination called “Ecoluminance” to guide drivers through less familiar roundabouts.
February 2013
The National Engineers Week Foundation is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.
January 2013
A new method of manufacturing wind turbine blades, used in the capturing of energy that produces power, is expected to enable the construction of much larger wind turbines with higher efficiency and lower costs.
December 2012
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) announced the teams that will study and identify key steps needed to extend and accelerate implementation of the emerging discipline of integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) in the automotive, aerospace/aircraft, and maritime industries.
November 2012
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October 2012
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September 2012
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August 2012
Barry D. Bruce, professor of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), is turning the term “power plant” on its head.
July 2012
The drive to develop crops for use as biofuel, continues to raise questions about additional uses of forest land.
June 2012
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