News Article
Cheaper and more accessible solar cells
New research paves way for nanoparticle-based 'ink' to make printable or spray-on solar cells
(Edmonton) University of Alberta researchers have found that abundant materials in the Earth’s crust can be used to make inexpensive and easily manufactured nanoparticle-based solar cells.
The discovery is an important step forward in making solar power more accessible to parts of the world that are off the traditional electricity grid or face high power costs, such as the Canadian North, says researcher Jillian Buriak.
Buriak is a chemistry professor and senior research officer of the National Institute for Nanotechnology based on the U of A campus.
UAlberta researcher Jillian Buriak (centre) worked with post-doctoral fellows Erik Luber (right) andHosnay Mobarok to create nanoparticles that could lead to printable or spray-on solar cells
Buriak and her team have designed nanoparticles that absorb light and conduct electricity from two very common elements: phosphorus and zinc. Both materials are more plentiful than scarce materials such as cadmium and are free from manufacturing restrictions imposed on lead-based nanoparticles.
“Half the world already lives off the grid, and with demand for electrical power expected to double by the year 2050, it is important that renewable energy sources like solar power are made more affordable by lowering the costs of manufacturing,” Buriak says.
Her team’s research supports a promising approach of making solar cells cheaply using mass manufacturing methods like roll-to-roll printing (as with newspaper presses) or spray-coating (similar to automotive painting). “Nanoparticle-based ‘inks’ could be used to literally paint or print solar cells or precise compositions,” Buriak continues.
Buriak collaborated with U of A post-doctoral fellows Erik Luber of the U of A Faculty of Engineering and Hosnay Mobarok of the Faculty of Science to create the nanoparticles. The team was able to develop a synthetic method to make Zn3P2nanoparticles, and demonstrated that the particles can be dissolved to form an ink and processed to make thin films that are responsive to light.
Buriak and her team are now experimenting with the nanoparticles, spray-coating them onto large solar cells to test their efficiency. The team has applied for a provisional patent and has secured funding to enable the next step to scale up manufacture.
This work is described in detail in the paper, "Solution-Processed Zinc Phosphide (α-Zn3P2) Colloidal Semiconducting Nanocrystals for Thin Film Photovoltaic Applications, " by Erik J. Luber et al in ACS Nano. DOI: 10.1021/nn4034234
The research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
