SOLAR ENERGY

 

Photosynthesis converts only 0.02-0.05% of the incident solar that represents about 100 times the food needed for mankind. Covering 0.1% or the earth's surface with 10% solar cells efficiency would satisfy our present needs. In parallel to costly inorganic solid-state based semiconductor solar cells emerge sensitised nanocrystalline cells relatively cheap to fabricate. These cells need in addition to fundamental understanding supplementary chemistry innovation directly inspired from living organisms. Indeed architecture in plants or bacteria and roles played by some specific molecules at the interfaces of organised systems help us to understand the direct relation between structure and function. These understandings direct our steps and comfort us to use the state of art chemistry knowledge like self-assembling techniques of programmed molecules using supramolecular chemistry concept. Our target are to design new dyes with specific groups in order to increase temperature stability, retard back electron transfer on the dye to improve global efficiency and also to improve contacts at interfaces between dyes and all electrical conducting materials. Such investigations in a near future will open the door of biochemical solar cells and the field of self-repairing solar cells as already plants are doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here represented an electrical motor powered by a Prof. Graetzel dye sensitised solar cell.