Graphene solar energy

Can graphene be used for solar panels?

Large sheets of transparent graphene that could be used for lightweight, flexible solar cells or electronics displays can now be created using a method developed at MIT. The technique involves a buffer layer of parylene for the graphene transfer process.

How does a graphene-based solar cell work?

They measured an optical transmittance close to 90 percent for the graphene film under visible light. The prototyped graphene-based solar cell improves by roughly 36 times the delivered power per weight, compared to ITO-based state-of-the-art devices. It also uses 1/200 the amount of material per unit area for the transparent electrode.

Are graphene-based solar cells better than ITO?

The prototyped graphene-based solar cell improves by roughly 36 times the delivered power per weight, compared to ITO-based state-of-the-art devices. It also uses 1/200 the amount of material per unit area for the transparent electrode. And, there is a further fundamental advantage compared to ITO: “Graphene comes for almost free,” Azzellino says.

Can graphene be used in perovskite solar cells?

Agresti, A. et al. Graphene and related 2D materials for high efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. In 2017 IEEE 17th International Conference on Nanotechnology, NANO 2017 145–150 (IEEE, 2017). Agresti, A. et al. Titanium-carbide MXenes for work function and interface engineering in perovskite solar cells. Nat. Mater. 18, 1228–1234 (2019).

Why have graphene electrodes slowed the adoption of solar cells?

Two key problems have slowed the wholesale adoption of graphene electrodes. The first problem is depositing the graphene electrodes onto the solar cell. Most solar cells are built on substrates such as glass or plastic, as shown in the schematic below.

Could atomically thin graphene lead to ultra-lightweight solar cells?

A new way of making large sheets of high-quality, atomically thin graphene could lead to ultra-lightweight, flexible solar cells, and to new classes of light-emitting devices and other thin-film electronics.