• Cryptocurrency
  • Earnings
  • Enterprise
  • About TechBooky
  • Submit Article
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
TechBooky
  • African
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Gadgets
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • African
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Gadgets
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
TechBooky
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Home Energy

Stanford Scientists Develop New Photovoltaic Material, TMD For Lightweight Solar Panels

Ayoola by Ayoola
December 31, 2021
in Energy, Research/How to do it
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Stanford University researchers have developed new photovoltaic materials to be used in mobile applications, from self-powered wearable devices and sensors to lightweight aircraft and electric vehicles, with the researchers achieving record efficiencies in a promising group of photovoltaic materials.

The scientists brought what is known as Transition Metal Dichalgonides’ to the fore.

A major benefit of the TMD is that is that they absorb ultrahigh levels of the sunlight that strikes their surface compared to other solar materials.

Transition metal dichalcogenide solar cells on a flexible polyimide substrate. Credit: Koosha Nassiri Nazif

Koosha Nassiri Nazif, doctoral scholar in electrical engineering at Stanford and co-lead author of a study published in the December 9 edition of Nature Communications analyzed it when he said:

“Imagine an autonomous drone that powers itself with a solar array atop its wing that is 15 times thinner than a piece of paper. That is the promise of TMDs.”

Cross-section schematic of the device. Credit: Koosha Nassiri Nazif

The forage for new materials is predicated on the fact the silicon, undoubtly the king of solar materials is too  heavy, bulky, and rigid for applications that requires flexibility, lightweight and high power. Examples are wearable devices and sensors or aerospace and electric vehicles.

A professor of electrical engineering and senior author of the paper, Krishna Saraswat, explained this further when he said: “Silicon makes up 95 percent of the solar market today, but it’s far from perfect. We need new materials that are light, bendable and, frankly, more eco-friendly”.

TMDs brings to the equation a competitive alternative, with past and present research experiments struggling to convert more than the 2 percent they absorb into electricity. But the number is closing to 3o percent with silicon solar panels and to be used widely, TMD will step in to close that gap further.

There is already a 5.1 percent power conversion efficiency with the Standford model, with the authors of the project affirming that they could reach a 27 percent efficiency with optical and electrical optimizations, a figure that would be on par with the best solar panels in the world.

The prototype achieved a 100-times greater power-to-weight ratio of any TMDs yet developed, a ratio important for mobile applications, like drones, electric vehicles, and the ability to charge expeditionary equipment on the move. Taking cognizance of the measure of electrical power output per unit weight of the solar cell, the prototype dolled out 4.4 watts per gram, a significant figure aligning with other current-day thin-film solar cells, including other experimental prototypes.

“We think we can increase this crucial ratio another ten times through optimization,” Saraswat said, noting that the team estimated the practical limit of their TMD cells to be a remarkable 46 watts per gram.

One of TMDs downsides is however laced in the engineering intricacies of mass production. The TMD layer gets damaged when the ultrathin layer of TMD is transferred to a flexible, supporting material.

Alwin Daus, a co-lead author on the study with Nassiri Nazif, while devising the transfer process that affixes the thin TMD solar arrays to the flexible substrate, noted that the technical challenge was considerable. Daus added that there is  one step involved transferring the layer of atomically thin graphene onto a flexible substrate  just a few microns thick.

This knotty process of doing this will have TMD fully embedded in the flexible substrate leading to greater durability. The team then proceeded to test the flexibility and robustness of their devices by bending them around a metal cylinder less than a third of an inch thick.

“Powerful, flexible and durable, TMDs are a promising new direction in solar technology,” Nassiri Nazif concluded.

 

 

Source: Scitechdaily

Reference: “High-specific-power flexible transition metal dichalcogenide solar cells” by Koosha Nassiri Nazif, Alwin Daus, Jiho Hong, Nayeun Lee, Sam Vaziri, Aravindh Kumar, Frederick Nitta, Michelle E. Chen, Siavash Kananian, Raisul Islam, Kwan-Ho Kim, Jin-Hong Park, Ada S. Y. Poon, Mark L. Brongersma, Eric Pop and Krishna C. Saraswat, 9 December 2021, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27195-7

Related Posts:

  • 19_06_20_small
    Research Reveal How Solar Panels Can Be 1000x More Powerful
  • tesla and solar panels
    How Many Solar Panels Does It Take To Charge A Tesla?
  • BATTERY-BANK
    How to Calculate Solar Battery Costs: A Step-by-Step…
  • kenya-power-CS-main
    Kenya Power Sets To Innovate The Domestic Market…
  • Audi Invest R45 Million In South Africa To Deploy EV Charging Infrastructure.
    Audi Invest R45 Million In South Africa To Deploy EV…
  • -1x-1 (7)
    Yellow Africa Reports Additional Business Capital To…
  • nopearide
    Kenya's First EV Taxi Service NopeaRide Shuts Down
  • maps data
    Google Plans To Generate $100 Million In A Year By…

Discover more from TechBooky

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Tags: energyresearchsolar panelstanford university
Ayoola

Ayoola

Ayoola Faseyi, an Abuja based Journalist with interest in Technology and Politics. He is a versatile writer with articles in many renowned News Journals.He is the Co-Founder of media brand, The Vent Republic.

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

Select Category

    Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

    subscription from
    Loading

    Freshly Squeezed

    • Tech Hype vs. Reality – When Big Tech Missed the Mark Pt. 3 May 11, 2025
    • Google’s Antitrust Showdown, AI vs. Search, and other Headlines May 11, 2025
    • Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC May 10, 2025
    • Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology May 10, 2025
    • Threads Adds Dashboard for Post & Account Limits May 10, 2025
    • Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues May 10, 2025

    Browse Archives

    May 2025
    MTWTFSS
     1234
    567891011
    12131415161718
    19202122232425
    262728293031 
    « Apr    

    Popular Tags

    africa (135) AI (497) android (367) app (717) Apple (577) artificial intelligence (419) business (482) china (132) cryptocurrency (210) ecommerce (122) enterprise (287) facebook (507) fintech (244) funding (121) gadget (558) gaming (201) google (710) government (469) instagram (173) internet (467) ios (291) iphone (246) meta (116) microsoft (369) mobile (352) new feature (384) nigeria (440) privacy (158) research (140) samsung (185) security (421) smartphone (277) social media (836) software (509) startup (419) streaming (174) telecom (242) tips (372) twitter (289) united states (216) users (158) videos (127) website (173) whatsapp (201) youtube (138)

    Quick Links

    • About TechBooky
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact us
    • Submit Article
    • Privacy Policy

    About Us

    TechBooky

    TechBooky is a social Tech blog with a special focus on the budding African Technology sector. TechBooky is currently based in Abuja, Nigeria.

    Recent News

    Tech Hype vs. Reality – When Big Tech Missed the Mark Pt. 1

    Tech Hype vs. Reality – When Big Tech Missed the Mark Pt. 3

    May 11, 2025
    Google’s Antitrust Showdown, AI vs. Search, and other Headlines

    Google’s Antitrust Showdown, AI vs. Search, and other Headlines

    May 11, 2025
    Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC

    Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC

    May 10, 2025
    Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology

    Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology

    May 10, 2025
    Advertisement Coming to Threads from Next Year

    Threads Adds Dashboard for Post & Account Limits

    May 10, 2025
    Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues

    Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues

    May 10, 2025
    • Login

    © 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
    • African
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Gadgets
    • Metaverse
    • Tips
    • About TechBooky
    • Advertise Here
    • Submit Article
    • Contact us

    © 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

    Discover more from TechBooky

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok