Transparent PSC could lead to electricity-generating windows

Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano.

Yang Yang, Rui Zhu, Paul S Weiss and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), explained that there has been interest in so-called polymer solar cells (PSCs), which are made from plastic-like materials.

PSCs are lightweight and flexible and can be produced in high volume at low cost. That interest extends to producing transparent PSCs. However, previous versions of transparent PSCs have had many disadvantages, which the team sought to correct.

The scientists describe a new kind of PSC that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells 66 per cent transparent to the human eye.

They are said to have made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current.

Another breakthrough is the transparent conductor made of a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium-dioxide nanoparticles, which was reportedly able to replace the opaque metal electrode used in the past.

This composite electrode also allowed the solar cell to be fabricated economically by solution processing. The authors suggest the panels could be used in smart windows or portable electronics.