14 DAY TRIAL // Scientist Bernard Kippelen, now working with the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his fellow researchers have recently gone public with the news that they have succeeded in manufacturing recyclable solar cells using trees as one of their raw materials.
The solar cells are said to have a power conversion efficiency of 2.7%. Furthermore, their being recyclable basically means that, once they are no longer of any use, they can be disposed of by recycling them with the help of water alone.
According to the researchers, the need to push for such recyclable means of harvesting green energy sources goes hand in hand with efforts to promote sustainability.
Thus, it is important that the technologies used in order to harvest and generate green energy are environmentally friendly themselves.
Oil Price quotes Professor Bernard Kippelen, who made the following observations: “The development and performance of organic substrates in solar technology continues to improve, providing engineers with a good indication of future applications. But organic solar cells must be recyclable.”
“Otherwise we are simply solving one problem, less dependence on fossil fuels, while creating another, a technology that produces energy from renewable sources but is not disposable at the end of its lifecycle.”
The same source informs us that the recyclable solar cells created by these scientists consist of one layer of organic semiconductor and a cellulose nanocrystal substrate.
Once the cells reach the end of their work cycle, they can be broken down into their components by submerging them in water and waiting for their cellulose nanocrystal substrates to naturally dissolve.
Bernard Kippelen and his team believe that, after carrying out several other experiments, they will be able to roll out recyclable solar cells whose power conversion efficiency will be one of 10%.
“Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10 percent, levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass or petroleum-based substrates,” the researcher said.