Researchers at the University of Southern California have recently succeeded in developing a flexible carbon atom film transparent material and using it to make organic photovoltaic cells. The researchers said that this carbon atom material is widely used, for example, it is expected to be used to produce solar curtains and clothes that generate electricity on their own.
The researchers reported in the new academic journal, American Chemical Society Nano, that this new material, called graphene, consists of a layer of highly conductive carbon atoms and is made up of several atoms in thickness. Graphene organic photovoltaic cells convert light energy into electricity. At present, researchers have been able to produce graphenes of various sizes, of which the largest area is 150 square centimeters.
However, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of such graphene organic photovoltaic cells is inferior to that of solar silicon cells. Each square meter of solar silicon cell can convert 1000 watts of sunlight into 14 watts of electricity, while the same area of ​​graphene organic photovoltaic cells can only convert 1.4 watts of electricity. Graphene organic photovoltaic cells are low in cost and have good flexibility, so their application prospects are promising.
For example, Lewis Deaco, who participated in the study, said that new materials can be used as household curtains, and even as clothes that will generate electricity. At that time, people can wear such clothes to jog in the sun while charging their mobile phones or audio-visual equipment.