Transparent solar cells could allow for windows that generate electricity

Developed by a team from UCLA, the polymer solar cells produce energy by absorbing infrared light instead of visible light, making them 70% transparent to the human eye. The team made them from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current. "These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building integrated photovoltaics," said Yang Yang, professor of materials science and engineering at UCLA. "Our new polymer solar cells are made from plastic-like materials and are lightweight and flexible. More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost." Part of the breakthrough is the development of a transparent conductor made of a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles. According to the researchers, this composite electrode allows the transparent solar cells to be fabricated economically by solution processing and also achieves 4% power conversion efficiency.