Scientists create highly transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricit

[ScienceRocks]

Scientists create highly transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricityJuly 20, 2012 By Jennifer Marcus

Transparent Solar Cells. Visibly Transparent Polymer Solar Cells Produced by Solution Processing

(Phys.org) -- UCLA researchers have developed a new transparent solar cell that is an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their study appears in the journal ACS Nano.
The UCLA team describes a new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells nearly 70% transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current.

"These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications," said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, who also is director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).

Yang added that there has been intense world-wide interest in so-called polymer solar cells. "Our new PSCs are made from plastic-like materials and are lightweight and flexible," he said. "More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost."

Polymer solar cells have attracted great attention due to their advantages over competing solar cell technologies. Scientists have also been intensely investigating PSCs for their potential in making unique advances for broader applications. Several such applications would be enabled by high-performance visibly transparent photovoltaic (PV) devices, including building-integrated photovoltaics and integrated PV chargers for portable electronics.

Previously, many attempts have been made toward demonstrating visibly transparent or semitransparent PSCs. However, these demonstrations often result in low visible light transparency and/or low device efficiency because suitable polymeric PV materials and efficient transparent conductors were not well deployed in device design and fabrication.

Scientists create highly transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricity

 

[flacaltenn]

Plenty of useful applications for this --- but NOT for windows..

The acceptance angle of PV solar is not very wide.. The last thing you want to do is to mount them at right angles to the sun.. So unless it's a moon roof on a car or a skylight -- windows are not gonna be a winner application of these flexible panels.

I could see open ceiling applications (like airports and other public venues) where this would really be architecturally interesting to designers.

 

[Trakar]

Scientists create highly transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricityJuly 20, 2012 By Jennifer Marcus

Transparent Solar Cells. Visibly Transparent Polymer Solar Cells Produced by Solution Processing

(Phys.org) -- UCLA researchers have developed a new transparent solar cell that is an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their study appears in the journal ACS Nano.
The UCLA team describes a new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells nearly 70% transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current.

"These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications," said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, who also is director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).

Yang added that there has been intense world-wide interest in so-called polymer solar cells. "Our new PSCs are made from plastic-like materials and are lightweight and flexible," he said. "More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost."

Polymer solar cells have attracted great attention due to their advantages over competing solar cell technologies. Scientists have also been intensely investigating PSCs for their potential in making unique advances for broader applications. Several such applications would be enabled by high-performance visibly transparent photovoltaic (PV) devices, including building-integrated photovoltaics and integrated PV chargers for portable electronics.

Previously, many attempts have been made toward demonstrating visibly transparent or semitransparent PSCs. However, these demonstrations often result in low visible light transparency and/or low device efficiency because suitable polymeric PV materials and efficient transparent conductors were not well deployed in device design and fabrication.

Scientists create highly transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricity

Actually, this product, or products much like it, were advertised a year or so ago and promoted as being ready for market this year. I'm wondering if this is just a new press release timed to announce the entry into the market of the 3M product?

3M Film Turns Windows Into Transparent Solar Panels | PCWorld

Brite Solar Inc. had some transparent solar films out nearly a decade ago but as you can see in at their site, the transparency of the product left something to be desired. The new 3M films are much better.