Incorporating
graphene technology into the manufacture of photovoltaic cells has the potential to boost effi ciency levels.
Paul Boughton looks at a project to explore the potential of graphene in photovoltaic cells.
Graphene: unlocking the solar potential
T 20
www.engineerlive.com
he vast majority of photovoltaic cells are based on a crystalline silicon construction. These have high power
conversion effi ciency characteristics, but the drawback is that they are costly to fabricate, requiring use of the highest purity silicon.
Thin fi lm solar cells, in contrast, are relatively inexpensive to make. They have numerous favourable deployment characteristics, but this is counterbalanced by lower power conversion effi ciency and shorter operational lifespans than crystalline silicon.
But the possibility of carefully engineered incorporation of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) within the perovskite charge collecting regions of thin fi lm solid- state dye-sensitised solar cells
could boosted effi ciency levels. Through this, the widespread uptake of photovoltaic technology could be accelerated as solar cells that combine cost-effectiveness and high performance would then be brought to market. Increased conversion effi ciencies will result in a smaller installed area per unit of generated electricity, reducing the material requirements as well as carbon footprint of the manufacturing process.
Monolayer graphene encapsulation of the entire cell also has the potential to prevent moisture ingress affecting the perovskite layer, increasing the durability of this component in addition to reducing the external toxicity of solar cells based on these materials.
Now 2-DTech, a specialist in the
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