It seems the saturation for going innovative with efficiency has reached. Now, scientists across the world seem to be up with their gloves to make the existing concepts more and more efficient. This is perhaps, a more effective solution to curb global warming and cap climate change.
The Wake Forest University scientists have created a record by pushing the efficiency of organic or flexible, plastic solar cells to more than 6 percent! They have achieved this by creating ‘nano-filaments’ within light absorbing plastic – it is similar to the veins in tree leaves.
Unlike the traditional heavy and bulky solar panels that convert about 12 percent of the light hitting them to useful electrical power, this new development allows for the use of thicker absorbing layers in the devices that are capable of capturing more of the sun`s light or energy.
David Carroll, director of the Wake Forest nanotechnology center said,
I fully expect to see higher numbers within the next two years, which may make plastic devices the photovoltaic of choice.
To read more on the achievement, pick up the upcoming issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters where it is published.