Green homeowners can now bid goodbye to unwieldy solar panels! An inexpensive "solar paint" has been developed by the researchers at the University of Notre Dame in the US, which can be applied on the outside walls of a house to generate electricity from sunlight. The electricity thus produced by "Sun-Believable Solar Paint" can be used to power the home appliances and equipment on the inside, claim researchers.
"By making use of recent advances in semiconductor nanocrystal research, we have now developed a one-coat solar paint for designing quantum dot solar cells," said Prashant V. Kamat of the Radiation Laboratory and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, one of the lead authors of the study.
"By incorporating power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, we've made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment," Kamat added.
Talking about the quantum dots in detail, he said these are "semiconductor nanocrystals which exhibit size-dependent optical and electronic properties. In a quantum dot sensitised solar cell, the excitation of semiconductor quantum dot or semiconductor nanocrystal is followed by electron injection into TiO2 nanoparticles. These electrons are then transferred to the collecting electrode surface to generate photocurrent. The holes that remain in the semiconductor quantum dot are removed by a hole conductor or redox couple and are transported to a counter electrode."
Due to its amazing properties, Kamat and his co-workers christened the new paint as "Sun-Believable Solar Paint". If perfected, the new product is sure to herald a new era in solar power.
Unfortunately, the paint isn't ready for commercial use yet. At around 1 per cent, its efficiency is much less than traditional solar cells. "The best light-to-energy conversion efficiency we've reached so far is 1 per cent, which is well behind the usual 10 to 15 per cent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells. But this paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future," Kamat said.
"By making use of recent advances in semiconductor nanocrystal research, we have now developed a one-coat solar paint for designing quantum dot solar cells," said Prashant V. Kamat of the Radiation Laboratory and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, one of the lead authors of the study.
"By incorporating power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, we've made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment," Kamat added.
Talking about the quantum dots in detail, he said these are "semiconductor nanocrystals which exhibit size-dependent optical and electronic properties. In a quantum dot sensitised solar cell, the excitation of semiconductor quantum dot or semiconductor nanocrystal is followed by electron injection into TiO2 nanoparticles. These electrons are then transferred to the collecting electrode surface to generate photocurrent. The holes that remain in the semiconductor quantum dot are removed by a hole conductor or redox couple and are transported to a counter electrode."
Due to its amazing properties, Kamat and his co-workers christened the new paint as "Sun-Believable Solar Paint". If perfected, the new product is sure to herald a new era in solar power.
Unfortunately, the paint isn't ready for commercial use yet. At around 1 per cent, its efficiency is much less than traditional solar cells. "The best light-to-energy conversion efficiency we've reached so far is 1 per cent, which is well behind the usual 10 to 15 per cent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells. But this paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future," Kamat said.
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