MIT’s Self-Assembling Solar Cells Recycle Themselves Repeatedly, A dead ringer for Plant Cells [Republished]

Plants are extremely efficient converters of light into energy, setting the bar for researchers creating photovoltaic cells . A team of MIT scientists believe they’ve created an artificial chloroplast that may be broken down and reassembled repeatedly , restoring sun-damaged solar cells .

While the leaves on a tree seem like as static as the PV cells on a solar panel, they’re not; sunlight is absolutely quite destructive, and to counter this effect leaves rapidly recycle their proteins as often as every 45 minutes when in direct summer sunlight. This rapid repair mechanism allows plants to take full good thing about the sun’s bountiful energy without losing efficiency through the years.

To recreate this unique regenerative ability, the MIT team devised a singular set of self-assembling molecules that use photons to shake electrons loose inside the sort of electricity. The system contains seven different compounds, including carbon nanotubes that offer structure and a way to conduct the electricity faraway from the cells, synthetic phospholipids that form discs that also provide structural support, and other molecules that self-assemble into ” reaction centers” that really interact with the incoming photons to release electrons.

Under certain conditions, the compounds assemble themselves into uniform structures suitable for harvesting solar energy. But inside the presence of a surfactant (comparable to the stuff used to disperse oil during oil spills) the structures break down into a solution of nanotubes, phospholipids, and other constituent molecules. By pushing the solution through a membrane to remove the surfactant, the elements another time assemble into working, rejuvenated solar cells undamaged by their prior exposure to the sun.

The cells are work at 40 percent efficiency, and researchers think with some tweaks they can push that efficiency much higher. And because they don’t degrade over the years – just give ‘em a brief shake with the surfactant and they’re essentially present day – the tech will be the next big leap forward for solar technology.

[ Eurekalert ]

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This post is tagged: cells, plant, Repeatedly, Republished, ringer, SelfAssembling