One advantage that this new solar cell affords us is not only from its light weight but its elasticity. The weight being a major added benefit due to the fact that this new cell could be deployed on rooftops without requiring additional support. Another added benefit of this cell is its elasticity.
I mean this new cell is only as thick as a spider's silk. I mean this comes as no surprise to me really, but can all of you imagine a solar cell which is that thin? Really, this could be deployed into clothing to power all sorts of devices. One example that was given in this article is that it could be deployed in clothing to power a life saving device for the elderly. Pretty neat isn't it-- the elderly would not have to worry about pesky batteries to power sensors that are crucial to their health any longer!
That very same article says that it is based on a PET substrate, and I am just guessing here, but I believe that it is similar to your water bottles are made out of. PET, which stands for Polyethylene terephthalate. Now I am just guessing here that this is the same PET used water bottles nowadays, and sadly requires petroleum to manufacture. And its electrode is compromised from Calcium/Silver with a thickness of only 115 nanometers.
The active layer is actually something that has been invented a while ago – an organic solar cell called P3HT:PCBM, which in 2009 had been considered the most efficient of its kind (5 percent). The other electrode is PEDOT:PSS, a polymer that’s both transparent and conductive. Of course it sefficiency had not yet been disclosed at the time of this article, and I venture to guess it still has not been released as of today's date neither.
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