A dramatic improvement in solar cells has come to light! Researchers at the University of Washington’s (UW) laboratories have developed a revolutionary design that more than doubles the efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity, along with making it easier to manufacture and cheaper than existing solar technologies. The justifiably named “popcorn-ball” resembles just that, with tiny kernels clumped into much larger porous spheres.
“We think this can lead to a significant breakthrough in dye-sensitized solar cells,” said the study’s lead author Guozhong Cao, a UW professor of materials science and engineering.
The balls’ complex internal structure 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 light. The experiments were performed using zinc oxide, which is less stable chemically than the more commonly used titanium oxide but easier to work with. The overall efficiency was 2.4% using only small particles, which is the highest efficiency achieved for this material. “We did not expect the doubling,” Cao said. “It was a happy surprise.”
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, Washington Technology Center, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Co-authors are postdoctoral researcher Qifeng Zhang, research associate Tammy Chou and graduate student Bryan Russo, all in the UW’s department of materials science and engineering, and Samson Jenekhe, a UW professor of chemical engineering.