Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed paper-thin solar cells that can be attached to the surface of any type of object and use solar energy to generate electricity. Thinner than a human hair,
these solar cells can be laminated to various surfaces, such as the sails of ships at sea to power them, tents and tarps in disaster relief to provide power, or the wings of drones to broaden their flight range.
The findings were first published in the journal Small Methods. The paper was co-authored by MIT Electrical Engineering Professor Vladimir Bulovi Bulović, MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science graduate student Mayuran Saravanapavanantham, and MIT Research Scientist Jeremiah Mwaura. The
scientists used electronic printable ink, using a technique similar to printing a design on a T-shirt. Because these thin solar cells are difficult to handle and tear easily, scientists looked for a lightweight, flexible and elastic material to attach to these solar cells. The fabric they finally chose was Dyneema composite-a material known for its incredible strength. After printing the electrodes on a plastic sheet, the
scientists glued the plastic sheet to Dyneema. Finally, they peeled off the fabric where the electrodes were attached, leaving a clean sheet of plastic.
"While it may seem simpler to print solar cells directly on fabric, this will limit the choice of possible fabrics or other receiving surfaces that are chemically and thermally compatible with all the processing steps required to manufacture the device," Saravanapavanantham told J. "Our approach separates the manufacture of solar cells from their final integration."
According to media reports, although the battery produces only half of the electricity per unit area of traditional silicon-based solar cells, it produces 18 times more energy per kilogram than traditional silicon-based solar cells.
During the test, the solar cells produced about 730 watts of energy per kilogram when independent, and about 370 watts per kilogram if deployed on Dyneema fabric. By comparison, it only needs to add about 44 pounds of weight to the roof to generate the same amount of electricity as an 8,000-watt conventional solar installation in a Massachusetts home, the MIT News reported. The goal of the
scientists is to make solar cells more efficient and portable, so that they can provide services in places where traditional solar panels can not be used, rather than completely replacing traditional solar cells.
"My expectation is that the variety of these new cells should make us completely rethink how fast we can deploy solar cells and how fast we can manufacture solar cells," Brovich told the press. "In the long run, we think this can be as fast as printing a newspaper."
As the demand for clean and renewable energy continues to grow, this technology could revolutionize solar energy utilization by making it more accessible.
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