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Cheap Paint-able Solar Cells Developed

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the finally-a-use-for-fullerenes dept.

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets. According to the lead researcher, "Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations." The team combined carbon nanotubes with tiny carbon buckyballs (fullerenes) to form snake-like structures. Add sunlight to excite the polymers, and the buckyballs will grab the electrons. The article abstract is available through the Journal of Materials Chemistry, with an illustration of the technology."

5 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. A useful technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hopefully this will make our tanks, planes and kill-bots better by reducing the mass/volume required for energy storage, thus increasing the space available for bullets, nukes and sharp sticks.

  2. Brinks truck pulls up to Staples ... by drphil · · Score: 4, Funny


    "Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers." ...
    "The team combined carbon nanotubes with tiny carbon buckyballs (fullerenes) ..."

    Whooboy! I wonder what that print cartridge is going to cost!

    1. Re:Brinks truck pulls up to Staples ... by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 5, Funny

      About twice as much as a printer with the cartridge.

  3. Re:Interesting by Xymor · · Score: 4, Funny

    And then those danm hippies will say we're overusing the Sun's light.

    I'm not a republican, I'm just joking.

  4. Printers of the future can do everything! by dan_barrett · · Score: 4, Funny

    While this sounds cool, this seems to be yet another technology that we'll eventually be able to print with our inexpensive inkjet printers.

    hopefully they'll release the "nanotube buckyball solar panel" cartridge to fit in the same printer as the OLED display cartridge... etc.

    Can't wait to read some word documents written using solar panel nanotube ink, too.