Quantum dots plus new materials promises most efficient and cheaper solar cells

Attempts to find cheaper and more efficient solar cell materials using quantum dots which added with new ingredient has been pointed out by researchers at Stanford University at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The mixture of new material is claimed to increase 3-fold efficiency.

According to the researchers, the combination of these new materials led to improved performance of solar cells more efficient and cheaper than current solar cells made from silicon or thin-film. Quantum dots are tiny crystals measuring only a few nanometers has several times tried to replace the current traditional semiconductors.

Although quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells can be set to different wavelengths of light, but it has very low efficiency. The researchers tried to eliminate the weaknesses of quantum-dot-sensitized by adding an organic molecule using the semiconductor titanium oxide and cadmium sulfide quantum dots. In this way, the conversion of light into electricity can be improved and makes 3-fold increases in the efficiency of solar cells.