Organic photovoltaic cells

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University (USA) have developed new solar cells based on natural substances derived from plants.

Professor Bernard Kippelen, who leads the research team, hopes that for the first time sustainable, renewable and easily recyclable solar cells will be created with this technology.

Recycling new solar cells simply requires... soaking in water
- Photo: Gizmag

According to him, the development and implementation of organic materials in solar technology continues to improve, giving engineers a good signal of future applications. On the other hand, solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise, scientists will simply solve the problem of reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Previous solar cells were often made of glass or plastic, making them difficult to recycle. According to Professor Kippelen, this time, the solar cells are made of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) derived from plants.

Recycling these new cells at the end of their life cycle is as simple as rinsing them in room temperature water. After a few minutes of soaking, the CNC substrates dissolve, leaving the solar cells easily stripped of their main components.

CNC substrates are transparent, allowing light to pass through before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor.

The efficiency of these solar cells is only 2.7%, which is not efficient. Gizmag magazine quoted Professor Kippelen as saying that scientists are aiming to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells to 10%.

According to Thanhnien - VT