Printable, Paintable Solar Cells Could Provide Energy, Research Indicates

Imagine being able to print your own solar-energy panels or paint a solar cell collector onto the roof of your car. It might not be as far-fetched as it sounds, according to new research being conducted at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

Scientists at the university recently published a paper describing how organic solar cells could be created using carbon-based nanomaterials, which are made of tiny particles approaching the size of individual molecules. Nanomaterials exhibit unusual properties that are often radically different from those of "normal" materials. The carbon nanotubes proposed to power the organic solar cells, for example, would conduct electricity far more efficiently than any conventional metal wires.

"Actually, nanotubes are significantly better conductors than copper," said Somenath Mitra, lead researcher in the organic solar cell project and professor/acting chair of NJIT's department of chemistry and environmental sciences.

The solar cell developed by Mitra and his team uses carbon nanotubes, cylindrical assemblages of carbon atoms that are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, and buckyballs, which are similarly tiny carbon materials with a soccer-ball-like, spherical structure. (On a side note, buckyballs -- having been discovered at Rice University in Houston -- are also the official state molecule of Texas.) Put together, the buckyballs capture the electrons released when sunlight strikes the solar panel, while the nanotubes conduct those electrons to generate an electrical current.

"Using this unique combination in an organic solar cell recipe can enhance the efficiency of future painted-on solar cells," said Mitra. "Someday, I hope to see this process become an inexpensive energy alternative for households around the world."

Currently, solar cells are made from purified silicon that takes lots of energy to produce and, as a result, can be costly. Solar cells made from organic carbon, on the other hand, promise a "cheap and potentially simpler alternative," according to Mitra.