Developing new solar cells - cheaper, or more efficient?

Kavli Medal and Lecture
The next generation of solar cells use strongly absorbing materials such as polymers that can be deposited cheaply over large areas by printing, thereby offering a feasible way to install solar power on an affordable scale.
This lecture will describe how we can improve the performance of these devices by controlling the complex nanostructures that allow charges to be extracted from the active layer. It will present a new approach that might break the 34% efficiency limit that applies to all simple solar cells, by extracting energy from the blue and green parts of the solar spectrum that is normally wasted.
Professor Greenham was awarded the Kavli Medal and Lecture for his exceptional work on hybrid materials, combining polymer semiconductors with inorganic nanoparticles, and their use in printable solar cells.
Venue: The Royal Society
Start date: Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:30:00 +0100
End date: Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:30:00 +0100

Source: Nature Network London - Upcoming Events - March 26, 2013 Category: Science Source Type: events