Graphene is the Future of Solar Power?

Although solar power itself has revolutionized the way that we use energy in our households and businesses, graphene is anticipated to bring the system to the next level. Only small strides have been made for the absorbable cells thus far with high-cost materials that create a high-price in the market of solar; what Clean Technica refers to as “defect-free conventional silicon solar cells,” The material, however, doesn’t take too well to humidity which tends to lessen the effectiveness of their application in the sun.

According to Clean Technica, the material graphene has made a “super cheap, durable, and efficient perovskite cell” possible to develop. The term perovskite basically means any type of synthetic version of the mineral perovskite, that is widely used in solar energy due to its amazing conversion potential. “Halide perovskites have demonstrated exceptional progress in PV cell performance — from 3.8% in 2009 to a certified 22% in 2016. Remarkably, such high-efficiency perovskite solar cells can be made from polycrystalline materials by solution processing.” This impressive rise is basically a testament to how impressed researchers in the field have been with the introduction and improvement of synthetic solar technology so far.

Recently, researchers at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, have been introducing layers of “cuprous thisocynate” (cuprous, a word for copper and thiocyanate, a word for salt) to the perovskite solar cells; this layer of copper salt is actually protected by a thin layer of reduced graphene oxide. Considering the impressive conducivity properties of graphene in quite a thin layer of impermeable material, this is anticipated to be the perfect match to keep the solar cells from spoiling in the sun. The team created what they called a “crucial accelerate aging test,” in which the cells were exposed to 1000 hours of sunlight in 60 degrees Celsius “weather” and it showed that thanks to the layer of graphene, “the solar cell retained more than 95% of its starting conversion efficiency, which was a little more than 20%,” So far, the team is happy with the results they have seen and consider the project favored.

So, beyond being a contender for the ability to preserve the heat in the solar cells, the low-cost of the perovskite materials will provide an affordable and effective way to capitalize on solar power for businesses and consumers. This is a game-changer for the solar industry as “only highly expensive, prototype organic hol-transporting materials have been able to achieve power-conversion efficiencies over 20%.”

It seems every day there are more and more industries being revolutionized by the wondrous material that is graphene and we really don’t see it stopping any time soon. The best part about the material is that not only is it reducing costs in the world that have been far too high for the economy to afford, but it barely takes up any space which is resulting in a small carbon footprint. If you are interested in joining along with the future of world, contact us today to learn more about graphene and Grolltex.