Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Paper-thin solar cell can turn any surface into a power source”.
Narrator Solar panels as thin as paper and as flexible as fabric that could be applied to many different surfaces and used in a wide variety of applications could be available soon. Thanks to a new approach to manufacturing solar cells being developed at MIT., A team of researchers out of MIT’s ONE lab have engineered ultralight, flexible thin-film, solar cells that weigh about 100 times less than conventional solar panels and generate about 18 times more power per kilogram.. The solar cells are entirely printable using ink-based materials and scalable fabrication techniques, so making them is fast and easy to deploy. To create a solar cell. The researchers coat a stack of nanomaterials in the form of electronic inks onto a prepared, peelable substrate., Then using simple screen-printing techniques, an electrode –, which collects the generated power — is added to the top of the solar cell.. After this, the solar cell can be peeled off the substrate and then laminated onto a variety of materials such as flexible fabrics.. This type of lightweight solar cell could open up a world of applications.. For instance, they could be integrated into the sails of a boat to provide power while at sea or adhere to tents and tarps often deployed in disaster recovery operations.. Most importantly, the researchers say this lightweight solar technology can be easily integrated into built environments with minimal installation. Needs. When testing the device researchers found that the high-strength fabric solar panel could generate about 370 watts per kilogram, which is about 18 times more power per kilogram than conventional silicon. Solar cells., A typical silicon, solar installation on a home in Massachusetts, would add around 1,000 pounds on the roof.. On the other hand, just over 50 pounds of this solar fabric would be enough..
They also tested the mechanical durability of the device and found that, even after rolling and unrolling the fabric solar panel more than 500 times, the cells still retained more than 90 % of their initial power generation capabilities., While their solar cells are far lighter and much more Flexible than traditional cells, they would need to be encapsulated with a protective film, since the materials used to make the cells could be damaged by interacting with air., But encasing them in heavy glass would defeat the purpose.. So the team is currently developing ultra-thin plastic packaging. That would only add a tiny bit of weight to the device..
The researchers say they are working to remove as much of the plastic material as possible, while still retaining the properties of the solar material. .