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Jacob Spillars and Christopher McClay
Lincoln University of Missouri
Advisor: Prof. Majed Dweik
Abstract
The ever increasing need for energy and the limited resources of fossil fuels has been the main motivation to find renewable and alternate energy sources. The development in the field of alternate energy and its potential to be a vital supplement to the fossil fuel supply and solve the energy problem has generated immense interest in the area of photovoltaics. Photovoltaic is the direct conversion of light into electricity. Efficiency of photovoltaic cells has been a major problem in the move towards expanded use of solar energy as an energy source. There are many factors that affect the solar cell output, like bandgap of the material, absorption and wavelength being some of them. Different materials are being researched to alleviate the problem of limited efficiency. Especially, the use of nanoparticles offers unique properties like high carrier mobility, large surface areas, high current carrying capability, mechanical strength and chemical stability. In this paper we report a simple solar cell assembled for academic purposes using ITO (indium tin oxide) coated glass slide, nanocrystalline metal oxide (TiO2) and simple materials like red wine vinegar (dye) etc. The efficiency of these fabricated devices was found to be around 2%. Over the course of our research we intend to replace the conventional substrates with flexible materials, develop a fabrication process that works at room temperature, and employ simple methods that do not need expensive equipment. The proposed device can advance the move towards efficient, renewable, cost effective and environmentally friendly energy source.
Jake Spillar is a junior at the Lincoln University. He is interested in working on photovoltaic devices.
Christopher McClay , PhD, is an assistant professor with the department of physics at Lincoln University- Jefferson City, Missouri. He is the director for Center of Nanotechnology and leads the Cooperative Research, Life and Physical Sciences research. Dr. Dweik serves as Councilor-at-Large for the Institute of Biological Engineering. His interest include applications of nanomaterials in energy, sensors etc.
Syed Barizuddin, PhD, is a post doctoral fellow, working on projects including high efficiency solar cells, sensors etc. His other interests include, MEMS, Biomaterials, Carbon based materials and thin films.
Majed Dweik, PhD, is an assistant professor with the department of physics at Lincoln University- Jefferson City, Missouri. He is the director for Center of Nanotechnology and leads the Cooperative Research, Life and Physical Sciences research. Dr. Dweik serves as Councilor-at-Large for the Institute of Biological Engineering. His interest include applications of nanomaterials in energy, sensors etc.
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