Testing has begun on solar cells that contain a layer of carbon nanotubes in hopes to increase the efficiency of solar cells by capturing more of the sun’s rays that usually go to waste.
Using nanotubes, the MIT scientists combine them with photonic crystals to create an “absorber-emitter.” Their goal is to increase the cell efficiency, the amount of energy in sunlight that’s converted into electricity, to at least 80%. This would be a massive increase in efficiency compared to today’s most efficient standard cells that convert about 22% of sunlight energy into electricity.
Read more about how the scientists hope to increase solar panel efficiency using nanotubes.
