New solar technology based on organic photoelectrochemical, dye-sensitized cells, is being implemented in hundreds of every day use consumer products ranging from clothing, smart cards, gadgets, lighting to windows and building facades.
Konarka, a Lowell, MS, company pioneering the technology, says it’s ready to market the products in which the solar dye has been implemented after the summer. The technology has a light to energy conversion rate of of 7.2 percent. This compares to 16 to 20 percent of regular, photovoltaic, solar technology.
The advantages of dye solar technology include flexible implementation options. Dye-based solar technology also converts low light and light rays at obscure angles. Plus the electricity generated can be applied to specific current wavelengths.
Konarka already markets an inkjet printing based solar dye product.
The technology was discovered by the Swiss professor Michael Gratzel, who claims his invention is more robust than photovoltaic solar panels. Gratzel recently described his work in an article in Inderscience’s Angewandte Chemie.
The way it works is as follows: dye cells, composed of titanium oxide nanocrystals, absorb light. An electrolyte solution then releases electrons which create “holes:” positive charges as a result of lost electrons. The titanium dioxide transfers the resulting electricity to a power circuit.
