To understand how solar cells heal themselves, look no further than the nearest tree leaf or the back of your hand.
The “branching” vascular channels that circulate life-sustaining nutrients throughout leaves and hands serve as the inspiration for solar cells that can restore themselves efficiently and inexpensively.
In a new paper, North Carolina State University researchers Orlin Velev and Hyung-Jun Koo show that creating solar cell devices with channels that mimic organic vascular systems can effectively reinvigorate solar cells whose performance deteriorates due to degradation by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Solar cells that are based on organic systems hold the potential to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than silicon-based solar cells, the current industry standard.
The nature-mimicking devices are a type of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), composed of a water-based gel core, electrodes, and inexpensive, light-sensitive, organic dye molecules that capture light and generate electric current. However, the dye molecules that get “excited” by the sun’s rays to produce electricity eventually degrade and lose efficiency, Velev says, and thus need to be replenished to reboot the device’s effectiveness in harnessing the power of the sun.
“Organic material in DSSCs tends to degrade, so we looked to nature to solve the problem,” Velev said. “We considered how the branched network in a leaf maintains water and nutrient levels throughout the leaf. Our microchannel solar cell design works in a similar way. Photovoltaic cells rendered ineffective by high intensities of ultraviolet rays were regenerated by pumping fresh dye into the channels while cycling the exhausted dye out of the cell. This process restores the device’s effectiveness in producing electricity over multiple cycles.”
The Latest on: Self-Healing Solar Cells
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Tesla makes quick work of Puerto Rico hospital solar power relief project
on October 24, 2017 at 8:39 am
Grateful to support the recovery of Puerto Rico with @ricardorossello pic.twitter.com/JfAu11UBYg — Tesla (@Tesla) October 24, 2017 The facility in question will provide power to Hospital del Niño, with a combination of solar cells and Tesla’s ... […]
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Self-Healing Solar Cells — Vascular Channels Based On Plant Leaves Allow For Self-Healing In New Solar Cells
on August 15, 2017 at 5:00 am
Self-healing solar cells — possessing “vascular” networks similar to those in plant leaves — have now been created by researchers from North Carolina State University. The new solar cells are able to effectively and inexpensively restore themselves ... […]
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Cooling, time in the dark preserve perovskite solar power
on May 17, 2016 at 4:12 pm
... with solar illumination could undermine the commercialization of perovskite-based solar cells. The new paper, "Light-activated photocurrent degradation and self-healing in perovskite solar cells" (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11574), co-authored by Wanyi Nie ... […]
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Cooling, Time in the Dark Preserve Perovskite Solar Power
on May 17, 2016 at 8:58 am
... solar illumination could undermine the commercialization of perovskite-based solar cells. The new paper, “Light-activated photocurrent degradation and self-healing in perovskite solar cells” (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11574), co-authored by Wanyi Nie and ... […]
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Cooling, time in the dark preserve perovskite solar power
on May 16, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Photo-degradation under sunlight and self-healing in the dark of the photocurrent in organometallic halide perovskite solar cells (top). Illustration of the light activation of meta-stable trap states during photo-degradation, and curing of these traps ... […]
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Reprogrammed Bacteria Build Self-Healing ‘Living Materials’
on March 24, 2014 at 9:07 pm
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Self-Healing Solar Cells Mimic Plant Leaves to Repair Themselves
on August 15, 2013 at 10:06 am
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Self-healing solar cells 'channel' natural processes
on August 7, 2013 at 8:08 am
NC State's regenerative solar cell mimics nature by using microfluidic channels. Credit: Dr. Orlin Velev To understand how solar cells heal themselves, look no further than the nearest tree leaf or the back of your hand. The "branching" vascular channels ... […]
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Scientists develop self-healing solar cells
on September 7, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Over time, most solar cells degrade due to prolonged exposure to the sun's scathing rays and are rendered useless. But with a little inspiration from nature, researchers have now created a new solar material that regenerates its damaged energy-capturing ... […]
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