Quantum dot coating turns windows into solar panels

According to the official website of Los Alamos National Laboratory on December 12, the research team of the advanced solar photophysics center of the laboratory obtained certain solar energy conversion efficiency by spraying thin quantum dots on ordinary glass, so that the glass windows in the building can be turned into low-cost photovoltaic power generation system Los Alamos National Laboratory uses quantum dot coating to turn ordinary glass into solar panels People always try to use multiple connected solar cell modules to capture the solar energy falling on windows "Using a mechanism to send captured sunlight directly to a solar cell at the edge of a window not only greatly simplifies the installation, but also reduces the cost Now we do it " Victor crimov, a nanotechnology engineer who led the study, said Klimov's team found that an ultra-thin quantum dot coating can transform ordinary glass into solar panels and maintain their functions for 14 years, and the energy conversion efficiency is now as high as 1.9% Although there is still a gap of 6% required for practical use, they can achieve this goal soon Moreover, it is very easy to spray quantum dots on the window glass It only needs a machine to spray slurry quantum dots and PvP polymer on the glass, and then use a scraper to spread them into a thin layer The quantum dots used by the kremov team contain a cadmium arsenide core and a cadmium zinc sulfur shell, and are covered with a layer of silica to prevent the shell from oxidation and loss of light absorption When the solar photons meet the quantum dot, the electrons in the shell jump from the covalent band to the conduction band, leaving holes Electrons and holes jump to the core at the same time, where they regroup to form photons In the design, they let the shell absorb only high-energy photons, so that new photons can easily be transmitted to the whole glass and quantum dot layer through internal reflection, and finally reach the glass edge, where the solar cells absorb them According to the researchers, the new research shows that nanocrystals such as quantum dots can be used to make large-area and cost-effective devices to collect and scatter light sources, and relevant tests on the absorbability and stability also show that such devices are no inferior to other solar cells These coatings can also be recycled, and glass is readily available, which is the first choice for high-rise buildings whose roofs do not have enough space for solar panels They will continue to adjust the concentration of QDs to improve the absorption characteristics and conversion efficiency, so as to put them into use as soon as possible.