Everyone knows about solar panels that sit on roofs and cover fields, providing electricity for buildings. But could energy from the sun power up the e-reader you take on vacation?
Mark Snyder and James Gilchrist, who teach chemical engineering at Lehigh University, are developing a type of solar cell that could do just that. Their research is on dye-sensitized solar cells, which function by putting a type of dye molecules to work. A solution including these molecules is sandwiched in a solar cell between two porous layers, one of which is transparent and contains a chemical compound called titania. When sunlight hits the solution, the dye molecules release electrons, which leads to the creation of electricity.
Snyder explains that these solar cells aren’t very efficient. He and Gilchrist are working on making them dramatically more efficient by incorporating an arrangement of tiny lenses on the transparent layer.
The scientists have received $30,000 from the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center and are working to bring the technology to market. They have started testing devices and are working to learn in more detail exactly how they work. Within a year they hope the research will be far enough along to draw interest from investors and businesses.
Snyder says the resulting cells could be used to power something about the size of an e-reader, but their full potential isn’t yet clear. “We’re hoping to apply this technology to enhance efficiency, so we’ll see where we can take it,” he says.
Source: Mark Snyder, Lehigh University
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen
Mark Snyder and James Gilchrist, who teach chemical engineering at Lehigh University, are developing a type of solar cell that could do just that. Their research is on dye-sensitized solar cells, which function by putting a type of dye molecules to work. A solution including these molecules is sandwiched in a solar cell between two porous layers, one of which is transparent and contains a chemical compound called titania. When sunlight hits the solution, the dye molecules release electrons, which leads to the creation of electricity.
Snyder explains that these solar cells aren’t very efficient. He and Gilchrist are working on making them dramatically more efficient by incorporating an arrangement of tiny lenses on the transparent layer.
The scientists have received $30,000 from the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center and are working to bring the technology to market. They have started testing devices and are working to learn in more detail exactly how they work. Within a year they hope the research will be far enough along to draw interest from investors and businesses.
Snyder says the resulting cells could be used to power something about the size of an e-reader, but their full potential isn’t yet clear. “We’re hoping to apply this technology to enhance efficiency, so we’ll see where we can take it,” he says.
Source: Mark Snyder, Lehigh University
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen