Conjunction of fiber solar cells with groovy micro-reflectors as highly efficient energy harvesters

Yongping Fu; Zhibin Lv; Shaocong Hou; Hongwei Wu; Dang Wang; Chao Zhang; Zengze Chu; Xin Cai; Xing Fan; Zhong Lin Wang; Dechun Zou

doi:10.1039/C1EE01427G

Conjunction of fiber solar cells with groovy micro-reflectors as highly efficient energy harvesters†

Yongping Fu,‡^a Zhibin Lv,‡^a Shaocong Hou,^a Hongwei Wu,^a Dang Wang,^a Chao Zhang,^a Zengze Chu,^a Xin Cai,^a Xing Fan,^a Zhong Lin Wang*^b and Dechun Zou*^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China
E-mail: dczou@pku.edu.cn

^b School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
E-mail: zhong.wang@mse.gatech.edu

Abstract

Solar cells are the most effective approach for sustainable energy to meet the world's increasing needs in energy. However, their large-scale applications have been limited by low cost performance, supply of raw materials, complex preparation processes and the possible pollutions produced during processing. Here we introduce a novel fiber solar cell housed in a simple and low-cost parabolic-shape reflector, which can effectively capture diffuse light from all directions. The maximum efficiency of the fiber based dye-sensitized solar cells alone reached 7.02%. Furthermore, the maximum power output was enhanced by a factor of two and five, respectively, when the fiber was in conjunction with a diffuse reflector or a micro-light concentrating groove.

Energy & Environmental Science

Conjunction of fiber solar cells with groovy micro-reflectors as highly efficient energy harvesters†

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Conjunction of fiber solar cells with groovy micro-reflectors as highly efficient energy harvesters

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