It's not just Popeye that get's a power boost from spinach; our very own solar modules also get a boost in efficiency thanks to Spinach.
Source: Daily Mail
For more information contact: rprabhu@renewindians.com
Scientists in Tennessee,US have discovered that combining the spinach with silicon during manufacturing produced a much stronger electrical current in solar cells than present methods. The team of biomolecular engineers and chemists used the photosynthetic protein in spinach - the vital ingredient that converts light into energy to make plants grow. Then they combined it with silicon, which is already used in solar cells, in a way that produced an electrical current 2.5 times more powerful that existing solar cells.
The team from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee reported their findings to the journal Advanced Materials. They have now applied for a patent for their process. Lead researcher, chemistry professor David Cliffel, said the new discovery could lead to the production of a new wave of solar cells within three years.
How can it be Manufactured-
To build their cell, the protein was extracted from spinach into an aqueous solution and poured onto the surface of a specially treated wafer of silicon. This was then put into a vacuum chamber so the water in the solution evaporated but left behind the protein as a tiny, thin, film on the wafer. The protein, when exposed to light, absorbs the energy contained within the light (photons).
These free electrons huddle together and create an area of positive charge which is the electrical current produced by solar cells. The process increases the amount of energy produced by the cells by 2.5 times but researchers believe there is yet more energy that could be produced by the protein and are working to try and improve it further.
For more information contact: rprabhu@renewindians.com
