Increasing the solar cell power output by coating with transition metal-oxide nanorods

I.A. Kuznetsov, M.J. Greenfield, Y.U. Mehta, W. Merchan-Merchan, G. Salkar and A.V. Saveliev

Applied Energy, 2011, vol. 88, issue 11, 4218-4221

Abstract: Photovoltaic cells produce electric current through interactions among photons from an ambient light source and electrons in the semiconductor layer of the cell. However, much of the light incident on the panel is reflected or absorbed without inducing the photovoltaic effect. Transition metal-oxide nanoparticles, an inexpensive product of a process called flame synthesis, can cause scattering of light. Scattering can redirect photon flux, increasing the fraction of light absorbed in the thin active layer of silicon solar cells. This research aims to demonstrate that the application of transition metal-oxide nanorods to the surface of silicon solar panels can enhance the power output of the panels. Several solar panels were coated with a nanoparticle-methanol suspension, and the power outputs of the panels before and after the treatment were compared. The results demonstrate an increase in power output of up to 5% after the treatment. The presence of metal-oxide nanorods on the surface of the coated solar cells is confirmed by electron microscopy.

Keywords: Silicon solar cell; Light scattering; Nanoparticles; Transition metal-oxide nanorods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261911002558
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:11:p:4218-4221

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.04.033

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().