Angela Belcher's research group at MIT has made a name for itself by using viruses—the biological kind—as a key part in a variety of nanoscale construction projects. So far, the work has focused on batteries, but this week a paper came out that indicated Belcher has turned her attention to photovoltaic devices. The work uses a virus to prepare carbon nanotubes for incorporation into a solar device, and sees a big boost in conversion efficiency.
One of the limiting factors in solar cell efficiency is the ability to shuffle electrons around. Once a photon knocks an electron off the active material of the solar cell, the electrons need to be moved away quickly and converted into current—otherwise, they'll simply recombine with the material they've been set loose from, and the photon's energy will be lost.
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Christina Applegate Shana Hiatt Tara Conner Drea de Matteo Trista Rehn
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