Using nanotechnology and plastic, we can now spray any surface and make it become it’s own solar panel that will even work on cloudy days. A sweater sprayed with the compound could charge a cellphone in your pocket. Electric cars could be left outdoors and charge themselves, even while your driving. Imagine the possibilities.
The composite works on the suns rays but not the visible rays we are most accustomed too. It uses infrared rays, the ones which make you feel warms when your in the sun. This new technology harnesses those rays, for the first time, by using nano particles called quantum dots. The scientists working on the technology think they could harness up to 30% of the energy hitting the material which is considerably higher than the amount that modern panels convert. That would place it in a category of solar cells called third generation photovoltaic cells as a nanocrystal solar cell.
The researchers believe that by only using .1% of the the Earth’s landmass they could power the entire world using only solar power. But as usually there is the question of large scale manufacturing and if the new, infant, power source could be produced on mass.
There are some examples of the new technology being used. Such as the Swansea Solar Paint project by Dave Worsley. There it was discovered by accident that they could potentially harness energy from the sun, while researching the effects of paint degradation on steel structures. Another company called The Corus Group, in the Netherlands, has also discovered and expressed their plans to spray the solar paint onto all of their steel products as they were being manufactured. Their technology would employ 4 layers of paint, a undercoat, a layer of dye-sensitized solar cells, a layer of electrolyte and then a protective film.
The New Jersey Institute of Technology also has done research on the new technology by using carbon nanotubes and Buckyball molecules.
NextGen Solar has also showed interest in developing spray on solar power and selling it to consumers.
Third generation solar cells are still quite new, as the first article on solar paint only appeared in 2005. But in the last couple years a number of new variations on the concept have arisen each promising better returns than it’s counterparts. Now consumers must act and express their interest in the new materials so manufacturing can get on with it’s job. Potentially there is still hope of a greener tomorrow.
