Eco Factor: Carbon nanotube-based photodiode betters the efficiency of solar cells.
Researchers at the Cornell University have created the basic elements of a solar cell that they hope will lead to solar cells with much better efficiency. The research team fabricated a simple solar cell called a photodiode from an individual carbon nanotube.
About the size of a DNA molecule, the nanotube was wired and eventually revealed that the narrow, cylindrical structure of the carbon nanotube caused the electrons to neatly squeeze through one by one thereby generating more electricity by utilizing the spare energy from the light. Though scaling up the device would prove to be expensive, it does show a possibility where highly efficient solar cells could be developed to solve the energy crisis.
Via: Physorg
