Solar cell nanoparticles. Image: Oregon State University Antifreeze and cheap materials may lead to

Solar cell nanoparticles. Image: Oregon State UniversityAntifreeze and cheap materials may lead to low-cost solar energyFurther news on the solar front! A new process engineered at Oregon State University potentially holds the promise of producing solar cells that cost less, are quicker to produce, and that avoid the use of toxic chemicals.Combining ‘comparatively cheap materials’ and antifreeze, the process not only allows for the more efficient propagation of solar energy, but could potentially have the ability to decentralise production, allowing you to 'cook up the solar cells in a microwave oven similar to the one in most kitchens’.Engineers at Oregon State University have determined that ethylene glycol, commonly used in antifreeze products, can be a low-cost solvent that functions well in a “continuous flow” reactor – an approach to making thin-film solar cells that is easily scaled up for mass production at industrial levels.The research, just published in Material Letters, a professional journal, also concluded this approach will work with CZTS, or copper zinc tin sulfide, a compound of significant interest for solar cells due to its excellent optical properties and the fact these materials are cheap and environmentally benign.“The global use of solar energy may be held back if the materials we use to produce solar cells are too expensive or require the use of toxic chemicals in production,” said Greg Herman, an associate professor in the OSU School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering. “We need technologies that use abundant, inexpensive materials, preferably ones that can be mined in the U.S. This process offers that.”By contrast, many solar cells today are made with CIGS, or copper indium gallium diselenide. Indium is comparatively rare and costly, and mostly produced in China. Last year, the prices of indium and gallium used in CIGS solar cells were about 275 times higher than the zinc used in CZTS cells.…This approach is also faster – many companies still use “batch mode” synthesis to produce CIGS nanoparticles, a process that can ultimately take up to a full day, compared to about half an hour with a continuous flow reactor. The additional speed of such reactors will further reduce final costs.“For large-scale industrial production, all of these factors – cost of materials, speed, quality control – can translate into money,” Herman said. “The approach we’re using should provide high-quality solar cells at a lower cost.”Too good to be true? To read the article in full, click here. To read the paper ('Continuous flow mesofluidic synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticle inks’) click here. Further reading:Solar Reaching Parity with Other Energy SourcesWorking toward a more inexpensive and widespread use of solar energyThe role of raw materials in current and emerging energy technologiesUC Santa Barbara scientists develop a whole new way of harvesting energy from the sunEvolution Inspires More Efficient Solar Cell Design -- source link

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