Materials science photovoltaic cells

To meet future energy demands, research on technologies that will help meet future demands on energy and transportation must be pursued today. Many of these technological developments will depend on advances made in the chemical sciences, from the development of more efficient catalysts, to improvements in separation technologies, to the development of new materials for photovoltaic cells. [Pg.27]

Array of solar panels (photovoltaic cells) on the roof of terraced houses in Heerhugowaard in the Netherlands. This is part of a Dutch government pilot project to investigate clean, renewable energy forms such as solar power. The 10 houses in this terrace (only two seen here) have a total of 200 square meters of solar panels on their roofs. The total power output of these solar panels is 24.6 kilowatts. The photovoltaic cells contain a semiconducting material that converts sunlight directly into electricity. Solar power is relatively cheap, as once the panels are installed, they continue to produce electricity indefinitely. (Courtesy of Martin Bond/Science Photo Library)... [Pg.251]

Photovoltaics also require significant research activity in the chemical sciences. Low-cost methods are required for producing solar-grade silicon for photovoltaic cells. Better solar cell materials are needed than the presently utilized amorphous silicon. These materials must be more efficient without the use of heavy metals such as cadmium, tellurium, indium, and lead, which present significant environmental issues. An understanding of the degradation process of photovoltaic cells is needed, as is an answer to why these materials lose their effectiveness after prolonged exposure to the sun. Finally, there is a need to develop catalysts for the efficient photochemical conversion of water. [Pg.32]

The purpose of this series is to provide high-quality advanced reviews of topics of both fundamental and practical importance for the experienced reader. This volume focuses on photovoltaic materials for energy conversion processes with emphasis on electrochemical science aspects associated with phenomena, reactions, and materials and engineering fundamentals associated with fabrication processes and functional capabilities. The chapters of this volume, along with more than 1100 references therein, illustrate the considerable potential of electrochemistry as a tool that can be used for the preparation and characterization of materials for solar cells. Electrochemical processes may soon take a central position as an enabling technology that will have an impact on the large-scale deployment of photovoltaic devices. [Pg.368]

Innovations in materials science and technology have provided promising strategies to realize a high photovoltaic performance. Besides the intrinsic properties of photoactive polymer materials, morphology is also critical in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. [Pg.155]

Joannis K. Kallitsis is a professor of polymer science and technology in the Department of Chemistry, University of Patras. He obtained his PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Patras in 1985. He spent 1 year in the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany, and one more year in the Kunstoff Laboratorium, BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany. His current research activities are focused on the synthesis of new polymeric materials with various architectures for photonic or photovoltaic applications as weU as proton-conducting materials for fuel cell applications. Recently, he has also been involved in the modification of carbon nanotubes with functional polymere. [Pg.773]

Over the last three decades, the chemistry of stable heterocyclic radicals has rapidly evolved to include heteroatom-rich and architecturally diverse structures. Exciting properties have led to significant advances in many areas and in particular in materials sciences. Recent highlights include (1) their role in photovoltaic solar cells, e.g., introducing galvinoxyl 102 (Figure 14) can increase the cell s efficiency by 18% (2012M11043,... [Pg.195]

Among the compound semiconductor materials, metal chalcogenide semiconductor nanocrystals have been extensively studied and widely used for linear and nonlinear optical devices and photovoltaic solar cells. The use of these materials as nanocrystals for large-scale fabrication of films with applications in solar energy conversion and other optoelectronic applications is an emerging and important area in materials science. Compared to the... [Pg.29]

Nano-confinement of metal and semi-conductor materials can lead to marked changes in their electronic behaviour. Their unique properties resulted in an increased interest in using these nanoparticles (NPs) in materials science. Furthermore, with the discovery of the symbiotic nature of metal/semi-conductor heterostructures, the use of NPs in applications such as photocatalysis and opto-electric devices, like photovoltaic cells, has increased. The exceptional properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as well as their unique structure, have led to increased investigation into their behavior in such hetero-structured complexes. Large surface-to-volume ratios, chemical inertness, and lack of porosity make CNTs prime candidates as catalyst supports. In more complex systems, the electrical properties of the CNTs increase the yield of catalyzed reactions due to the electronic interactions of certain NPs and CNTs. Based on the fact that charge transfer between quantum dots and CNTs has been reported, certain semi-conducting NPs have been covalently linked to CNTs to make hetero-junction electronic devices. ... [Pg.193]

John A. Turner, Ph.D., is a senior electrochemist in the Center for Basic Sciences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. His research is primarily concerned with direct conversion (photoelectrolysis) systems for hydrogen production from water. His monolithic photovoltaic-photoelectro-chemical device has the highest efficiency of any direct-conversion water-splitting device (>12%). Other work involves the study of new materials for fuel cell separators, corrosion of bipolar plates (fuel... [Pg.231]

OPVs are suitable for various applications in materials science Organic light emitting diodes (OLED), field-effect transistors (FET), semiconductors (doped), photoconductors, solar cells, photovoltaic devices, optical brighteners, laser dyes, nonlinear optics (NLO), optical switching, imaging techniques, photoresists and liquid crystals [la-e, Ij-o, Ir, Iv, 27, 120]. Among these applications, two fields will be selected here, namely NLO and electroluminescence studies. [Pg.492]

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