Nanoscale ‘Trees’ Improve Efficiency of Cheap Plastic Solar Cells
source: Scientific American /April 22, 2007
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa002&articleID=1496CAD6-E7F2-99DF-34B95C45D49BA57C
Solar cells made from cheap, plastic polymer barely capture the energy in sunlight. Photons reflect off the plastic and it is too thin to absorb much, giving the polymers color. “The very fact that it has color is telling you this thing is not working as well as it should,” says David Carroll, a physicist at Wake Forest University. But plastic solar cells also offer flexibility, light weight and, theoretically, low cost, and could be incorporated into a range of products. “You can’t think of doing anything cheaper than making Saran Wrap and that’s basically what these are,” says Lawrence Kazmerski, director of the Department of Energy’s National Center for Photovoltaics in Colorado.
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