Researchers have succeeded in developing a new type of system for concentrating solar energy that can be applied to the surface of windows without blocking the view seen through these windows. The system is called a 'transparent light-emitting solar energy concentrator', and it can be applied to buildings, mobile phones and any other facility with a flat and clear surface.
![Solar energy together with a landscape: the researcher holds in his hands a colorless substance capable of utilizing the sun's energy to generate electricity. [Courtesy: Yimu Zhao]](https://www.hayadan.org.il/images/content3/2014/08/transparent-lsc_lg.jpg)
[Translation by Dr. Nachmani Moshe]
A team of researchers from Michigan State University has developed a new type of system for concentrating solar energy that can be applied to the surface of windows without blocking the view emerging through these windows. Research in the field of energy production with the help of solar cells placed around light-emitting plastic-like materials is not new at all. At the same time, past efforts in this field yielded only limited results - the energy production was insufficient and the materials themselves were colored.
"No one wants to sit behind me colored glass," says the lead researcher, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science. "These glasses are suitable for particularly niche environments, such as working in pubs or nightclubs. We chose an approach where we create the active light-emitting layer itself so that it is transparent and colorless." The system for utilizing solar energy uses organic molecules specially developed by the research team and which are designed to absorb specific wavelengths in the invisible part of the light spectrum. "We can tune these materials so that they can absorb defined wavelengths on demand - wavelengths in the ultraviolet and near infrared range, which then emit light in other wavelengths in the infrared range," explains the lead researcher. The "glowing" infrared light is transmitted to the edge of the plastic where it is converted into electricity with the help of thin strips of photovoltaic solar cells. "In light of the fact that the materials do not absorb or emit light in the visible range, they appear unusually transparent to the human eye," says the researcher.
One of the benefits of this new development is its flexibility. Although the technology is still in its infancy, it holds promise for developing affordable commercial or industrial applications. "Our new system opens a window to a large area of deploying means to utilize solar energy in a way that does not interfere with the human eye," notes the lead researcher. "It can be used in tall buildings containing many windows or in any mobile device that requires high aesthetic quality, such as a mobile phone or electronic readers. In the end, we would like to develop surfaces capable of utilizing solar energy that we won't even know are there."
The lead researcher says that further research work is still required to improve the energy production efficiency of the system. Currently, the system is able to achieve an energy conversion efficiency of only 5 percent, but the researchers state that they aim to reach a rate of 7 percent when the system is optimal. The best efficiency known today for parallel solar energy utilization systems that are not colorless approaches only XNUMX percent. The research findings were published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials.
One response
Beautiful and encouraging. Maybe it's worth trying to expand the method to a multi-layered surface so that 1-5 percent will be absorbed in each of the layers and together it will be possible to reach a much higher efficiency.