A team at Notre Dame University’s Center for Nano Science and Technology (NDnano) in Indiana — headed by Prof Prashant Kamat — devised a technique for creating the solar paint.
‘By incorporating power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, we’ve made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment,’ said Kamat.
The method involved nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide, which were coated with either cadmium sulphide or cadmium selenide. The particles were then suspended in a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste.
When the paste was brushed onto a transparent conducting material and exposed to light, it created electricity with an efficiency of one per cent — some distance behind the typical 10–15 per cent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells.
Neverthless, Kamat said: ‘This paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future.’
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