Scientists Develop New Solar Cell, 10,000 Times Smaller Than Solar Panels, Capable of Revolutionizing the Renewable Market

Written by Valdemar Medeiros

Published on 21/09/2022 at 13:13

Updated on 21/09/2022 at 13:33

Protótipo de uma célula solar fabricada com o novo material, que é aplicado como uma tinta. [Imagem: ICL]

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Scientists Develop New Solar Cell Capable of Revolutionizing the Renewable Energy Market. The New Material Used Can Capture Much More Light Even with a Thickness 10,000 Times Smaller.

Scientists have developed materials capable of capturing solar energy at levels much higher than a conventional silicon solar cell, yet with a thickness 10,000 times smaller. The material is sodium bismuth sulfide, which can be grown in the form of nanocrystals that will then be spread in a solution to create films 30 nanometers thick.

New Sodium Bismuth-Based Material Could Change the Renewable Energy Market

The new material for producing solar panels is made from non-toxic elements abundant in the earth for commercial use. In fact, compounds based on this material that may replace the solar cell are already widely used, ranging from lead substitutes in solder to over-the-counter stomach medications.

According to Cambridge University scientist Yi-Teng Huang, a material has been found that absorbs light more strongly than conventional solar cell technologies and can be printed using ink.

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Scientists Discover Why the Material Can Absorb More Solar Energy

Researchers also found that the new material in the renewable energy sector remained stable in ambient air throughout the study, which lasted nearly a year, without the need for encapsulation, resembling other new photovoltaic materials like lead halide perovskites.

This demonstrates the long-term durability of the material, which is essential for solar cells sold.

Scientists discovered that there are two critical factors to explain the strong solar energy absorption of the new material for solar panels: the effects of crystal disorder and the role of sodium. The sodium and bismuth ions in NaBiS2 are similar in size, meaning that instead of occupying different crystallographic sites, they occupy the same site.

Similar Effects Are Found in Another Compound

As a result, the crystal structure changes to rock salt, a substance similar to sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt.

However, sodium and bismuth are not uniformly distributed throughout the material, and this non-homogeneity has a significant effect on absorption intensity.

Similar effects have been found in current work on the similar compound AgBiS2. However, NaBiS2 exhibits a stronger and clearer onset in solar energy absorption because sodium does not contribute to the electronic states around the bandgap of the semiconductor.

Scientists Develop New Solar Cell, 10,000 Times Smaller Than Solar Panels, Capable of Revolutionizing the Renewable Market

Scientists Develop New Solar Cell Capable of Revolutionizing the Renewable Energy Market. The New Material Used Can Capture Much More Light Even with a Thickness 10,000 Times Smaller.

New Sodium Bismuth-Based Material Could Change the Renewable Energy Market

Scientists Discover Why the Material Can Absorb More Solar Energy

Similar Effects Are Found in Another Compound

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Scientists Develop New Solar Cell, 10,000 Times Smaller Than Solar Panels, Capable of Revolutionizing the Renewable Market

Scientists Develop New Solar Cell Capable of Revolutionizing the Renewable Energy Market. The New Material Used Can Capture Much More Light Even with a Thickness 10,000 Times Smaller.

New Sodium Bismuth-Based Material Could Change the Renewable Energy Market

Scientists Discover Why the Material Can Absorb More Solar Energy

Similar Effects Are Found in Another Compound

While an average building in London or New York takes three years to be completed, in China a 26-story tower went up in five days with about 100 workers, and the global modular construction market already moves US$ 95 billion per year.

A Chinese factory in Guangdong is assembling a humanoid robot every 30 minutes while Tesla, Figure, and Boston Dynamics still struggle to deliver 10 thousand per year.

Australia installs giant concrete structures on the seabed 800 meters from the shore to create an ocean intake for desalination that will draw in saltwater and produce 30 million liters of drinking water per day.

Secret chamber sealed 4,500 years ago found in the Pyramid of Khufu, and Hawass announces its opening to the world in 2026

A public school student single-handedly created a machine capable of treating water for up to 50 people using only solar energy. It was awarded third place at one of the most important science fairs in the world.

Germany installed vertical solar panels on a lake in Bavaria, and the result broke conventional logic: instead of producing energy at midday peak, the plant generates more early in the morning and in the evening, exactly when families turn on appliances and factories are in full swing.

While communities suffer from water scarcity and the advancing desert, women in Morocco use nets high up in the mountains to trap fog droplets, fill reservoirs, and transport drinking water through more than 10 km of piping.

Plastic destined for landfills is turned into gasoline, diesel, and kerosene in Mexico, but Petgas technology sparks debate: real recycling or a cleaner way to burn waste while plastic pollution grows worldwide at an urgent global scale.

Sony launches “neck air conditioner” that cools the entire body, has 10 hours of autonomy, and intelligent cooling algorithm

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Caramuru sees profit fall by 69% in the first quarter of 2026 due to pressure on biodiesel, a drop in sales, a strengthened real against the dollar, and lower margins in a scenario that affected biofuels, agricultural commodities, and exports of the Brazilian company.

Saudi Arabia transforms sewage into a living oasis in the desert, with plants, algae, and fish filtering millions of liters per day while treated water irrigates farms and aids a plan for 7.5 million trees by 2030.

Sony launches “neck air conditioner” that cools the entire body, has 10 hours of autonomy, and intelligent cooling algorithm

Ship carries 40,000 tons of sustainable Brazilian soybeans to Bangladesh in COFCO’s first sale to the country, with certification involving traceability, satellites, and audits against deforestation in agricultural trade between Brazil and Asia, expanding the grain route.