A research team at the University of Warwick has declared their success in developing a window with gold plating to perform as a transparent electrode for use with organic solar cells.
Though gold is considered to be a costly metal, the gold utilized in the electrodes, with a thickness of 8 billionth of a meter, costs approximately £4.5 only for one square meter. Moreover, the gold utilized in such organic solar cells can be recovered at the end of their life term. The research also mentions that gold is currently being used as a dependable interconnect in a number of electronic products.
Presently, organic solar cells utilize Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coated glass as the translucent electrode. ITO is an intricate and unstable substance with a rugged surface and has an ability to develop cracks upon bending and when kept over a plastic substrate. Its key component indium is not available freely and it is comparatively costly to use. The ITO is largely utilized because of the non-availability of a suitable substitute. The problems in depositing thin films of gold to form a transparent electrode have ruled out its usage.
The research performed by Dr Ross Hatton and Professor Tim Jones, at the department of Chemistry in the University of Warwick, has introduced a quicker approach to deposit ultra thin films of gold over glass. Significantly, the method can be upgraded for further use in large sized applications such as solar cells thus resulting in chemically well fixed electrodes.
According to Dr. Hatton, gold based translucent electrodes can be potentially utilized for a range of large area applications, which requires steady, chemically well-set and extra-smooth surface electrodes to play a vital role. He mentioned their usage in organic optoelectronics and in upcoming fields such as nanoelectronics and nanophotonics.
The research paper provides information about the team, which is developing a simple and effective method for making gold deposits over glass. The study also explains how the optical attributes can be improved by perforating the film with polystyrene balls to make small circular holes. Molecular Solar, a spinout company of Warwick will make use of the innovative method to commercialize its products among organic solar cells producers.
Source: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/