Plastic Solar Cells - A new innovation...

  One of the burning topics that is alive today for any number of hours of discussion is the global warming. Global warming is briefly said as the increase in earth’s atmospheric temperature due to the increase in proportions of greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, etc.) in air. The extra warmth provided by these gases, causes the polar ice caps to melt, which results in the drowning of low land areas in water, as the mean sea level rises. It is roughly estimated that in a time of 100 years, countries like Maldives, Jordan and Israel will completely go under water. Pollution due to burning of fossil fuels is one of the prime factors leading to global warming. The immediate remedy is to reduce the usage of hydrocarbons like (diesel, petrol, gasoline, etc.) and lean towards renewable energy sources like solar power, tidal power, etc.

 Due to the alarming levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, almost every country has taken steps in bringing non-conventional energy resources in front. Pressure from different governments has increased solar panel and solar cell installations, there by tapping a wide area of solar energy in different parts of the world. But still solar energy accounts for only 1-2 percent of total energy consumptions. One of the major reasons for the slow growth of solar technologies is its initial installation costs. Generally, solar cells are been made from ultra-pure sliced silicon wafers. Higher efficient solar cells (silicon with cadmium telluride or copper indium selenide/sulphide) that produce more current per unit area involve much complexity in preparation and hence, their prices are high, obviously.

  Now, British researchers have brought the break through. They have deduced a technique that uses cheap plastics along with semiconductor substances to capture energy from sun. Selected plastic materials are printed or coated on other photoelectric substances in appropriate proportions, there by forming a solar cell. The researchers have demonstrated how different light sensitive substances are separated into positive and negative conductors by placing plastic films between them. The primary advantage of this technique over that with silicon is that, the new solar cells can operate at high temperatures without the problems of evaporation. Usually, silicon cells are enclosed in metals or glass boxes to prevent evaporation at increased temperatures. This found idea is to be extrapolated by researching on the selection and improvement of quality light sensitive materials that provides good output at low costs. It is believed that large scale production of this improved solar cell can take about 5-10 years from now.