Making solar power commercially viable with low costs, portablity and higher energy efficiency is the task that the University of Pittsburgh researchers have undertaken through the grant given by the National Science Foundation.
According to Gyangyoung Li, Assistant Professor at the university’s electrical and computer engineering department the commonly used plastic solar cells is combination of a few semiconducting polymers with other carbon intensive molecules that are cost effective. However, these materials are inefficient.
These cells are just 8.6% efficient and hence cannot make it to the commercial grade. In order to find the best possible material to increase the solar cells efficiency, Li hopes to utilize the Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM). KPFM helps in analysing the cell’s surface potential by observing their composition microscopically. However, he admits that the current force microscopy does not provide that ideal resolution this study requires to study the cell domains. Hence, he plans to work on an instrument that can provide with the optimal resolution to detect various cell domains.
The objective of this is to find the right material in order to increase the efficiency of the solar cells to 10%, which could create a better impact in energy generation. Li foresees a future that would be filled with energy-efficient materials all around and thereby help reduce its consumption as well.
Source: http://www.pitt.edu