Solar Even When It Rains

Graphene solar panels could create energy even when it’s raining

Mihai Andrei, April 11, 2016 (ZME Science)

“A new solar cell prototype [uses graphene layers to coat the solar panels and] may change the way we use solar panels…if it can also be efficient outside the lab…[Research from Ocean University of China created a solar panel] that can generate electricity when it’s raining, as well as when it’s sunny…[The key innovation is a one atom thick blanket of graphene that separates] the positively charged ions in rain (including sodium, calcium, and ammonium)…[and generates] electricity. This could happen because rain drops are never pure water (two hydrogen and one oxygen atom), but contain several types of salts in varying quantities…So far, they were able to generate 6.53 percent solar-to-electric conversion efficiency from their customised solar panel…[but graphene reduces the efficiency of the energy generation through solar light…[I]f they could create more energy from rain drops then what is lost this way, then the solar panels could become commercially viable. The durability of such a device will also have to be tested…” click here for more

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