UBC Developed Solar Cells that Produce Electricity in Dim Light

These hybrid materials that we are developing can be manufactured economically and sustainably, and, with sufficient optimization, could perform at comparable efficiencies as conventional solar cells

Imagine a cell in a solar panel that harvests light even during shady days, Yes! Scientists have discovered a way in which solar bacteria is used to build a cell for solar panels.

The cell is developed by the researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada. The experiment was successful when it generated a current stronger than any previously recorded form such a device and worked as efficiently in the dim light as in bright light.

“These hybrid materials that we are developing can be manufactured economically and sustainably, and, with sufficient optimization, could perform at comparable efficiencies as conventional solar cells,” said Vikramaditya Yadav, a professor at UBC.

Pertinent to mention here is that the cells are the building blocks of solar panels and they do the work of converting light into electrical current.

Previous efforts to build biogenic solar cells have focused on extracting the natural dye that bacteria use for photosynthesis. It is a costly and complex process that involves toxic solvents and can cause the dye to degrade.

The UBC team left the dye in the bacteria. They genetically engineered E coli to produce large amounts of lycopene – a dye that gives tomatoes their red-orange colour and is particularly effective at harvesting light for conversion to energy.

The researchers coated the bacteria with a mineral that could act as a semiconductor and applied the mixture to a glass surface.

With the coated glass acting as an anode at one end of their cell, they generated a current density of 0.686 milliamperes per square centimeter – an improvement on the 0.362 achieved by others in the field.

Source: PTI