Solar Cells Info

Source: SteelGuru.com, 13 Jun 2009
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/06/13/OTgyNjU3D/
Dyesol_takes_a_step_toward_integrating_solar_cells_onto_strip_steel.html

Dyesol said that it is another step closer to the commercial production of Dye Solar Cells integrated onto strip steel in a coil coating line. The joint project between Dyesol and Corus Colors is supported by the UK’s Welsh Assembly Government. The partners are creating a pilot production line for the technology at the PV Accelerator in North Wales. (more…)

by Edward Morgan, 23 June 2009
Source: Royal Soc. of Chemistry /Chemical Technology
http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2009/08/Lateral_solar_cells.asp
A new way of anchoring dyes in organic solar cells improves their performance, say an international team of scientists.

Dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs) contain an organic dye that releases electrons when excited by sunlight. The electrons are transferred to a semiconductor to generate electricity. The dye consists of a donor unit and an acceptor unit separated by a spacer group. Most DSCs use cyanoacrylic acid coupled to the acceptor unit to anchor the dye to the semiconductor. However, this makes it difficult to modify the dye’s structure to improve the cell’s performance. (more…)

Source: Laboratory Equipment.com, June 30, 2009
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/
news-korean-breakthrough-photovoltaic-cells-063009.aspx?xmlmenuid=51

Korean researchers have recently made a breakthrough discovery in solar cell development that increases the efficiency of thin-film panchromatic solar cells and allows use of clean and reusable energy on the entire globe.  The Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) team was able to stack three different color layers on a nanogranular titanium dioxide (TiO2) film. This allows the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) panchromatic film to absorb and convert all visible rays found in nature into power, meaning more electricity than what we would expect from conventional solar cells. (more…)

By Kim Tong-hyung, Staff Reporter, 29 June 2009
Source: KoreaTimes
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/
tech_view.asp?newsIdx=47591&categoryCode=129

A team of South Korean researchers suggested a new approach that enables dramatic improvement in the low-cost, thin-film solar cells now being developed in laboratories around the world.  The new technique could improve the power conversion rates of dye-sensitized solar cells by more than 50 percent of the current level once commercialization is made. (more…)

Source: ProActiveInvesters.com, April 14, 2009
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/1218/
dyesol-engaged-for-feasibility-study-for-glass-dye-solar-cells-in-turkey-1218.html

Dyesol (ASX:DYE) has been engaged by Nesli Dye Solar Cells Enerji Sistemleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (Nesli) to complete a detailed feasibility study establishing a glass-based DSC volume manufacturing facility in Turkey. Nesli has secured a line of funding for a phased development program, with initial capacity growing in discrete stages to 100,000m2 before expanding to a 500,000m2 manufacturing capability in the subsequent stage. Nesli is supported in the commercialisation by the Turkish Development Bank (Turkiye Kalkinma Bankasi – TKB). (more…)

Source: ScienceDaily, Apr. 10, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409151444.htm

In the race to renewable energy, organic solar cells are now really starting to take off. They can be manufactured easily and cheaply, they have low environmental impact, and since they are compatible with flexible substrates, they could be used in many applications such as packaging, clothing, flexible screens, or for recharging cell phones and laptops.  Teams at the Laboratoire d’ingénierie moléculaire d’Angers in Angers (CNRS/Université d’Angers) and at the Laboratoire des matériaux, surfaces et procédés pour la catalyse in Strasbourg (CNRS/Université Strasbourg 1) have recently obtained record conversion efficiency with solar cells based on organic molecules. (more…)

Source: Chem. Mater., 2009, 21 (1), pp 33–40
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cm702458p

Wang Zhang et al.report a novel photoanode structure inspired by butterfly wing scales with potential application on dye-sensitized solar cell in this paper. Quasi-honeycomb like structure (QHS), shallow concavities structure (SCS), and cross-ribbing structure (CRS) were synthesized onto a fluorine-doped tin-oxide-coated glass substrate using butterfly wings as biotemplates separately. Morphologies of the photoanodes, which were maintained from the original butterfly wings, were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The results show that the calcined photoanodes with butterfly wings’ structures, which comprised arranged ridges and ribs consisting of nanoparticles, were fully crystallined. Analysis of absorption spectra measurements under visible light wavelength indicates that the light-harvesting efficiencies of the QHS photoanode were higher than the normal titania photoanode without biotemplates because of the special microstructures, and then the whole solar cell efficiency can be lifted based on this.

* The Future of Thin-Film and Organic Photovoltaics Manufacturing
* Thin Film Photovoltaics Markets: 2008 and Beyond
* The Future of Organic Electronics Manufacturing
Source: NanoMarkets.com
http://www.nanomarkets.net/products/prod_detail.cfm?prod=3&id=281

The major goal of this report is to analyze and quantify the markets for OPV materials of all kinds. The report includes discussions of both “pure” OPV (using small molecules and primarily polymers) and hybrid approaches to OPV (notably dye sensitive cells.) Coverage includes the latest R&D and commercialization efforts in the area of electrodes, encapsulation and substrates, as well as the core absorber layers, (more…)

Source: UK Trade & Investment services, 18 Jan 2009
http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/OurWorld/4041467/en-GB.html

New-generation nanotechnology solar cells are being developed at Surrey University for German energy giant E.ON.  The university’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) has received 1 million euro (£0.9 million) to research energy production, conversion and storage.  A key focus will be organic alternatives to mainstream silicon-based cells, which while being relatively efficient are expensive and difficult to make. (more…)

By Anne Ju, Jan. 8, 2009
Source: Cornell Univ. press release
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan09/NanotubeInk.html

Using a simple chemical process, scientists at Cornell and DuPont have invented a method of preparing carbon nanotubes for suspension in a semiconducting “ink,” which can then be printed into such thin, flexible electronics as transistors and photovoltaic materials.  The method, which involves treating carbon nanotubes with fluorine-based molecules, is reported in the Jan. 9 issue of the journal Science (Vol. 323 No. 234). (more…)