Solar panels are as light as soap bubbles.

American scientists have invented a super thin and super light photovoltaic cell that can be placed on top of soap bubbles without breaking them.

A type of solar cell developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that can be placed on a soap bubble. Photo: MIT.

In a study published in the journal Organic Electronics, scientists say the key to creating the new battery is combining the production of the battery, the chemical catalyst, and the protective coating in the same process. "The panel is so light that you don't even know it exists on your clothes or notebook," Science Alert quoted Vladimir Bulović, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

One benefit of combining the solar cell and chemical catalyst is protection from dust and pollution. The team used a flexible polymer called parylene as the chemical catalyst and coating, while the organic material DBP (dibutyl phthalate) was used to create the base light-absorbing layer.

Unlike conventional methods of producing solar cells, the new process takes place in a vacuum chamber at room temperature without the use of solvents or other chemicals. The team uses a technique called vapor deposition, in which heat, pressure, and chemical reactions create a very thin coating on a specific material, to produce the solar cell and catalyst at the same time.

The researchers say the technique represents a major breakthrough. The result is ultra-thin and flexible panels, just one-fifth the thickness of a human hair and one-thousandth the thickness of current glass cells (about two micrometers), yet still able to convert sunlight into electricity just as efficiently. “If you breathe too hard, you can blow it away,” says Joel Jean, one of the team.

According to the inventors, the new manufacturing method allows solar cells to be placed on materials such as fabric and paper. Such panels could also be useful in space or at high altitudes, where mass is an important factor. However, the new solar cells will need several more years to be perfected before mass production.

According to VnExpress