Posted on 04/08/2016 6:43:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Adding graphene to solar cells makes them generate power from rain.
Solar power has been on a continuous rise over the past decade. Rooftop solar is arguably the most common renewable energy source for home use, and solar power plants are arguably the biggest renewable energy large scale generators.
But, regardless of all this, there is still something that limits solar power generation, and that is weather.
In order for solar cells to produce electricity, there has to be sun. Rain is sometimes welcome (preferably at night), to clean up dust and soil articles that could limit the efficiency of the cells. However, generally, rain and clouds are not associated with optimal solar cell functions.
A team of Chinese material scientists at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, decided to explore what possibilities are out there that could help solar cells overcome this problem. In other words, they went on a quest to find the right material that can help power generation of solar cells triggered by both sun and rain. I guess it is not very surprising to say that graphene, the miracle material, yet again proved to be the best.
Graphene was chosen due to its ability to attract calcium, sodium, ammonium, or in general, positively charged ions. This ultimately results in forming layers of positive and negative ions, which act a bit like energy storage capacitors.
The team decided to bet on this exact property of graphene, and tested what would happen if the material is added to regular dye-sensitized solar cells. They then placed them onto a transparent flexible sheet made of plastic and indium tin oxide. The team simulated rain from salty water to test the performance of the solar cells.
The result was pretty impressive- flexible solar cell with conversion efficiency of 6.5 percent. Under the simulated rain, the cells also produced “hundreds of microvolts” of power.
The findings, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, are very significant and promising. They indicate that improvements in this technology could lead to development of solar cells that can produce electricity in any weather.
The team is hopeful that their future research will help them boost the conversion efficiency. They are now looking to find out how different ions found in rainwater affect energy prediction. The aim is to find ways to overcome the variation in concentrations of this ions.
But how many inches of weight did it produce?
The question is "how many watts per square meter does it produce?" Sunlight at the equator at noon is about 1000 watts per square meter. From that you multiply it by the efficiency of the cells.
That's when we'd need it the most.
I need it to work at night too.
That would help. At this latitude we have dark 18 hours a day at the middle of winter.
Get a charge out of pissing on solar panels! I can see the advertising now...
My point is that some solutions may work well in some places and not at all in others.
I have an idea.
We have coal, oil, and natural gas right here. We export energy in all three forms and as electricity. We have lots of wide open spaces free of the sort of terrain features which trap stack emissions and create smog. It is a long way to anywhere from here, so any emissions are well dissipated between here and there.
How about we keep doing what we are doing (which works), and sell y'all the extra?
I always thought evaporated water was , you know, distilled, pure, regardless of what type of water pool it came from. So, they tested rain that came from salty water did they?
I suppose you're right. I wondered about the salty water reference myself. Supposedly rain is lacking minerals because it's pure water, unlike spring water which contains minerals that are necessary to ones health. So adding salt would create an ionization effect that may be missing from real rain water, and is skewing their claims of generating electricity. I've always thought that solar panels are a weak way of creating electricity, compared to attempts to increase efficiency of burning fossil fuels which is a proven technology. Reduce energy losses by converting more heat to energy in the burning of fossil fuels and the rewards are many times greater than fooling around with solar panels.
Bump
And when the cells are retrofitted with robotic mosquito wings, we could also have wind power...
Rooftop solar is arguably the most common renewable energy source for home use, and solar power plants are arguably the biggest renewable energy large scale generators.
Mila you dunce. One sentence in and you shoot yourself in both feet. I would suggest that OIL is the most common renewable for any use, but you obviously disagree.
Great. Are we going to have to start mowing them soon?
There is a lot of Obama bucks in non fossil fuel energy development.
Graphene is responsible for a gold mine of press releases and little else.
I know, I know it’s producing microvolts. I can hardly contain my excitement.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.