OXFORD: A coating 100 times thinner than a human hair can be printed on a bag, cell phone or car roof that can easily collect the sun’s energy, a new study has found. could reduce the need for solar farms.
Scientists at the University of Oxford’s Department of Physics have developed an ultra-fine, light-absorbing material that can be applied to the surface of almost any building or object, and is capable of generating nearly twice the energy of existing solar panels. .
The technology comes at a critical time for solar energy development as human-caused climate change is rapidly warming the planet, accelerating the world’s transition to clean energy. is falling
The solar coating is made of materials called perovskites, which are more efficient at absorbing the sun’s energy than the silicon-based panels widely used today. This is mainly due to the ability of its light-absorbing layers to absorb a wider range of light from the sun’s spectrum than conventional panels. And more light means more energy.
The Oxford scientists aren’t the only ones to have developed this type of coating, but theirs is particularly efficient, capturing about 27 percent of the energy in sunlight. Today’s solar panels that use silicon cells, by comparison, typically convert up to 22 percent of sunlight into electricity.
The researchers believe that over time the perovskites will be able to provide efficiencies in excess of 45 percent, showing that they were able to achieve yields from 6 percent to 27 percent over just five years of experimentation. are
