Solar energy is one of the many renewable sources of energy that is today used for providing electricity and for use in many consumer products. Though solar energy does not emit harmful gases into the atmosphere; it has a drawback that it works only in the presence of sunlight.
So in a bid to overcome this default of solar energy, scientists have now invented a plastic solar cell that has the ability of turning sun power into electricity even on cloudy days.
These plastic solar cells work based on nanotechnology and is the first solar cell that can harness the energy found in the sun’s invisible and infrared rays.
With this finding, theorists predict that plastic solar cells are basically five more times efficient than the technology that is presently used for solar energy.
Making these plastic solar cells is easy as the composite just has to be sprayed onto the material to make it be able to use solar energy. In other words, with this composite, you have a sort of portable source of electricity.
With a sweater that is coated with this composite, you will be able to power a cell phone or any other wireless device.
Similarly, a hydrogen powered car that is painted with the composite helps in converting solar energy into electricity, which in turn can be used to continually recharge the battery of the car.
With this idea, scientists and researchers envision a ‘solar farm’ to develop in the future where the plastic material is rolled across deserts so that the solar energy found here is harnessed to generate sufficient energy to supply power to the whole planet.
It is a known fact that the sun power that reaches the earth delivers 10,000 times more energy than is consumed by man today. so scientists infer that if at least0.1 % of the earth’s surface is covered with very efficient, large area solar cells like this composite material, it is possible to replace all the other energy sources on earth with a single source of power that is not only clean but also renewable.
The concept of plastic solar cells is not new; however the material that was used so far only harnesses the sun’s visible light.
It is only half of the sun’s power that is found in the visible spectrum; the other half lies in the infrared spectrum. It is this new material that is the first plastic composite that has the capacity of harnessing this infrared portion of the sun.
All things that are warm radiate heat; even people and animals. This is because there is some power remaining in the spectrum, the infrared portion that is emitted even when it is dark outside.
Specially designed nano particles called quantum dots are combined using a polymer so that the plastic detects energy in the infrared energy of the sun.
In the future, with further developments, it is predicted that this new plastic will be able to harness a maximum of 30% of the sun’s energy, in comparison with the 6% of solar power that is harnessed today in the best plastic solar cells.
