Researchers at QMUL have successfully created electricity-generating solar-cells with chemicals found in the shells of shrimps and other crustaceans for the first time.
The materials chitin and chitosan found in the shells are abundant and significantly cheaper to produce than the expensive metals such as ruthenium, which is similar to platinum, that are currently used in making nanostructured solar-cells.
Currently the efficiency of solar cells made with these biomass-derived materials is low but if it can be improved they could be placed in everything from wearable chargers for tablets, phones and smartwatches, to semi-transparent films over window.
Researchers, from QMUL’s School of Engineering and Materials Science, used a process known as hydrothermal carbonization to create the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from the widely and cheaply available chemicals found in crustacean shells. They then coat standard zinc oxide nanorods with the CQDs to make the solar cells.
Dr Joe Briscoe, one of the researchers on the project, said: “This could be a great new way to make these versatile, quick and easy to produce solar cells from readily available, sustainable materials. Once we’ve improved their efficiency they could be used anywhere that solar cells are used now, particularly to charge the kinds of devices people carry with them every day.
Read more: Cheap solar cells made from shrimp shells
The Latest on: Cheap solar cells
via Google News
The Latest on: Cheap solar cells
- Ky. Utility Regulators Set Rooftop Solar Rateon May 18, 2021 at 2:55 am
Kentucky utility regulators have for the first time put a dollar figure to the electricity that rooftop solar customers generate when they put energy back on the grid. They concluded that it’s worth a ...
- Is solar manufacturing a highly automated business?on May 18, 2021 at 1:55 am
Why the solar sector’s under appreciated dependence on cheap labour could be bad news for the global energy transition.
- Solar Panels Eliminating Some North Texans’ Electricity Bills Entirelyon May 17, 2021 at 8:04 pm
As the sun shines on Tracy Wallace’s home in Dallas, she knows the solar panels on the roof are soaking up its energy. “We’re happy to be part of the solution,” said Tracy. READ MORE: Dallas Police ...
- Household solar uptake meant demand on Australia’s grid in summer peak fell to five-year lowon May 17, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Audit underlines role renewables are playing in making coal-fired power unprofitable, expert says ...
- Australia’s wind and solar farms seek to dodge negative prices and grid costson May 17, 2021 at 7:35 pm
The days of a ‘set and forget’ bidding strategy are long gone in Australia in a rapidly changing market with more wind and solar.
- How Artificial Plants Are a Sunlight-Powered Hydrogen Fuel Cell Game Changeron May 17, 2021 at 4:14 pm
Researchers peer under the hood of the unique performance of silicon and gallium nitride in artificial-photosynthesis devices to promote the commercial viability of clean-energy hydrogen sources.
- Biden White House May Sanction Chinese Solar “Slavery” Panels, Threatening Renewables Growthon May 14, 2021 at 10:25 am
White House climate envoy John Kerry says the Biden Administration may have to sanction Chinese solar panels, threatening solar growth and pointing to the bad physics, economics, and ethics of ...
- Solar panels are key to Biden's energy plan. But the global supply chain may rely on forced labor from Chinaon May 13, 2021 at 10:48 pm
China's Xinjiang region has evolved over the past two decades into a major production hub for many of the companies that supply the world with parts needed to build solar panels. But new research ...
- Discarded solar panels create waste headache for NSW landfillson May 11, 2021 at 2:19 pm
Junked home solar panels are creating a massive waste problem, with decommissioned panels in NSW this year alone accounting for up to 3000 tonnes of rubbish according to government estimates.
- Why perovskite solar cells tend to segregate under the influence of lighton May 11, 2021 at 7:00 am
Solar cells made of perovskite are cheap, easy to produce, and almost as efficient as silicon, the material traditionally used in solar cells. However, perovskite cells have a love-hate-relationship ...
via Bing News
