Quantum dots could coat the world in nano-sized solar panels

We’ve long believed in the mystical power of quantum dots , so it makes perfect sense to us that one day they’ll be used to fully harness the Sun God’s rays and thereby save the planet. The nano-particles turn light into electricity, and could potentially be manufactured cheaply and abundantly enough to coat surfaces in current-generating paint. The main obstacle to this has so far been efficiency: the clever little dots just don’t work very hard. However, scientists at the University of Toronto now claim to have discovered a fix. Instead of using a single layer of particles, which can only harvest one meager wavelength from the full gamut of solar light, they added a second coat on top and configured it to be sensitive to an additional part of the spectrum. By adding third and fourth layers, the researchers hope to achieve a commercially viable efficiency of 10-percent within the next five years. We humbly call on Ra to be pleased with their efforts. Quantum dots could coat the world in nano-sized solar panels originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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