I sell desires and hopes in spray packaging, sang Renato Zero a few years ago. But what if instead of desires, photovoltaic panels were sold in spray packaging? Utopia? Not really, if Solarwindows TM, an experimental technology developed by New Energy Technologies that, still patent pending, could be launched on the market in a short time, should go to port.
He is about to end up invested, his mother saves him “I sell desires and hopes in a spray pack” Renato Zero sang a few years ago. But if instead of wishes, they were sold in spray packaging photovoltaic panels? Utopia? Not really, if she goes through Solarwindows TM, an experimental messa technology ready New Energy Technologies which, still patent pending, could be launched on the market in a short time.
According to what was reported in AZoNano's magazine, specialized in Nanotechnology, in this way the windows of the house could become real solar panels capable of capturing artificial light to transform it into electricity, thanks to tiny Photovoltaic cells “Spray” directly on the transparent surface.
Le micro-solar cells (for now the smallest ever produced), in fact, are made with an innovative process, thanks to the use of transparent conductive polymers which can be dissolved in liquids and applied to surfaces by means of a solution spray. The material used for these tiny photovoltaic cells, which are less than ¼ of a grain of rice, has the same semiconductor properties as silicon but it shows a far superior ability to absorb light radiation and transform it into electricity.
Furthermore, the new materials would be able to generate electric energy not only from natural light but also from artificial light, using, for example, also the light of the fluorescent lamps typical of the lighting of offices and commercial premises. The experiment reported in the authoritative American magazine is a further step forward of the Solarwindows TM technology of New Energy Technologies which has managed to overcome what until now represented the greatest obstacle for the concrete application, that is the presence, in the materials, of residues. metallic which, due to their opacity, decreased the transparency of the glass and therefore limited its application for windows.
We had already updated you on the experiments of American researchers who, in imitating chlorophyll photosynthesis, were trying to obtain photovoltaic panels from tobacco leaves, trying to obtain solutions based on polymers, "spreadable" on commonly used surfaces, but also of micro-photovoltaic “Glitter” developed by Sandia National laboratories which would also pave the way for the application of sunscreen on flexible surfaces such as fabrics.
If the results are confirmed we would now be facing the overcoming of a significant scientific barrier: the realization of one completely transparent photovoltaic surface obtained by replacing the residual metal parts and electrical contacts with transparent, synthetic and ecological materials. Are we even going towards overcoming the same concept of the now “traditional” photovoltaic panel?
Andrea Marchetti
