PLASTIC SOLAR CELLS :

A FUTURE VISION

Presented by:
SACHIN R UKKALI
SEREEN KOUSER M MOKHASHI
K.L.E.I.T, Hubballi
 Contents
 Introduction
 Solar cell
 Plastic solar cell
 Working of plastic solar cell
 Comparison
 Pros and Cons
 Conclusion
 Introduction
 Solar energy is one of the most popular forms of renewable
sources of energy.
 Solar cells made from semiconductor elements like silicon are
used to generate electricity from sun.
 The plastic solar cell is a new kind of technology used in
recent days for this purpose.
 Photovoltaic Solar cell
 The most common type of solar cells are the photovoltaic cells(pv
cells).

 silicon absorbs visible sunlight and transfers it to the

semiconductor material.

 This energy knocks electrons to flow freely, which results current.

FIGURE SHOWING THE WORKING OF A SOLAR CELL
 Infrared plastic solar cell
 A plastic solar cell can turn the suns power into electric energy
even on a cloudy day.
 This plastic material can harness the sun’s invisible infrared
rays.
 It uses specially designed nano particles called
quantum dots.
 The quantum dots with a polymer to make the plastic
that can detect energy in the infrared.

Quantum dot Quantum dot layer

 Working of plastic solar cell
 It requires semiconductor
Nano rods (7 nm by
60nm).

 The heart of a solar cell is a

200-nm-thick film.

 It consists of cadmium
selenide (CdSe) nanorods
and blended with P3HT(poly-
3hexylthiophene).
 A layer only 200
nanometers thick is
sandwiched between
electrodes.

 It can produce 0.7V at

present
• Aluminum coating acts. as
the back electrode.

• When nanorods absorb light

they generate an electron and
an electron hole.

• Electron is collected by
aluminum electrode.

• The hole is transferred to the

plastic and conveyed to the
electrode, creating a current.
 Applications
 Lightweight and flexible plastic solar cell painted on the back
 Telecommunication systems-Radio transceivers.

 Radio transceivers on mountain tops, or telephone boxes in the

country can often be solar powered
 Ocean navigation aids:
 Many lighthouses and most buoys are now
powered by solar cells.
Hydrogen powered car:

Hydrogen car painted with the film could

convert solar energy into electricity to
continually recharge the car’s battery
 Pros and cons
Pros:
 These are considered to be 30% more efficient.
 Their efficiency is same even on cloudy days.
 These are very compact and more practical in
application.
Cons:
 They are very costly.
 Relatively shorter life span when continuously
exposed to sunlight.
 It requires higher maintenance and constant
monitoring.
 Conclusion
 Plastic solar cells help in exploiting the infrared
radiation.

 More effective when compared to conventional

solar cells.

 They can even work on cloudy days.

 Though at present cost is a major drawback, it

can be solved in the near future.
THANK YOU