Podcast: New type of solar cell retains high efficiency for long periods

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http://www.acs.org/GlobalChallenges

Developing News Sources of Energy: New type of solar cell retains high efficiency for long periods

November 28, 2011

As scientists search for new sources of economical and efficient energy, a research team in Switzerland has been working to develop an improved version of a highly promising solar cell that is less expensive than conventional solar cells made from the semi-conductor material, silicon. Michael Graetzel, of Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, explains.

“These dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have some significant advantages. They can be manufactured in light-weight flexible sheets, for instance, that are more durable and suitable for roll-up applications such as window shades and as transparent electricity producing glass panels for building integrated photovoltaics. Hindering commercial use of DSCs has been their lack of stability of some solvent containing high performance electrolytes, with the electricity output tending to decline over time.”

In a key breakthrough, the team reports development and successful lab tests of a new electrolyte composition suitable for the dye-sensitized solar cells.

“We produced this new composition with different material that is both stable and has a relatively high efficiency of 10 percent. It has an improved electrolyte system, the substance that conducted electricity inside the solar cell. The new device retained at least 95 percent of that sun-converting ability for 1,000 hours of testing.”

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Podcast: http://web.1.c2.audiovideoweb.com/1c2web3536/GC2011_SolarCellsFINAL.mp3
Transcript: http://portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/pressroom/podcasts/globalchallenges/future/CNBP_028735