Creating Solar Energy With Nanoparticles • Earth.com

Creating Solar Energy With Nanoparticles

09-01-2016

Rice University scientists have unveiled a revolutionary new technology that uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam. The new “solar steam” method from Rice”s Laboratory for Nanophotonics is so effective it can even produce steam from icy cold water. Details of the solar steam method were published online today in ACS Nano. The technology”s inventors said they expect it will first be used in sanitation and water-purification applications in the developing world.

An international team of scientists has demonstrated a breakthrough in the design and function of nanoparticles that could make solar panels more efficient by converting light.  Solar panels can produce electricity by absorbing light energy and each layer of these panels play an integral role in the efficient functioning of the device.

For material chemists, how to develop materials that are effective in harnessing solar energy is the primary step to tackle this challenge.  Solar panels can produce electricity by absorbing light energy and each layer of these panels play an integral role in the efficient functioning of the device. Scientists hope to use this process to develop solar cells that capture and convert previously missed sunlight into usable energy.  Scientists have developed a method of solar thermal heating that generates steam at the nanoparticle level.

credit:Rice University

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