Exotic Materials In Solar Panels

High performance batteries need lithium which is only easily extracted from briny pools in the andes.

Exotic materials in solar panels.

Amorphous silicon cells are non crystalline and instead are attached to a substrate like glass plastic or metal. Finally amorphous silicon cells create flexible solar panel materials that are often used in thin film solar panels. The large majority of panels used in installations are safe silicon based panels. A new way to make the most efficient and powerful types of solar cells could help solar power compete with fossil fuels.

Thin cheap solar panels need tellurium which makes up a scant 0 0000001 percent of the earth s crust making it three times rarer than gold. In 2011 the average price of rare earth metals shot up by as much as 750 percent. The materials we use are in principle extremely inexpensive says stephen forrest who leads an optoelectronics research group at the university of michigan in ann arbor mi. They are lean and bendable unlike a standard panel.

Organic molecules such as polymers and dyes synthesized in bulk from simple ingredients can form the light absorbing layer in a pv cell. Plastic plastic is a common. These include the following. Pure silicon is crystalline a structure necessary for photovoltaic cells.

Hydrogen is then used to reduce this gas to silane gas which is in turn heated to make molten silicon. It can be used in everything from wires including. The metallurgical grade silicon is exposed to hydrochloric acid and copper which produce trichlorosilane gas. The average lifespan of a solar panel is about 20 years but high temperatures as in the mojave desert can accelerate the aging process for solar cells and snow dust and other natural events tornadoes earthquakes can cause material fatigue on the surface and in the internal electric circuits gradually reducing the panel s power.

For this reason thin film solar panels are true to their name. Glass widely used in the design of solar panels glass can be found above conventional silicon solar cells.