thermalphotovoltaic https://refractor.io/tag/thermalphotovoltaic/ thermalphotovoltaic en-AU Wed, 22 Jan 2014 02:56:37 GMT Nanomaterial thermophotovoltaic system increases efficiency and portability of solar power https://refractor.io/science/nanomaterial-thermophotovoltaic-system-increases-efficiency-and-portability-of-solar-power/ A closeup of the tiny thermal PV system, in which a carbon nanotube layer absorbs solar energy and heats the single layer of photonic crystals, which re-emits energy back at a optimal wavelength for the solar cell

It’s not a new idea to improve upon traditional solar cells by first converting light into heat, then reemitting the energy at specific wavelengths optimally tuned to the requirements of the solar cell, but this method has suffered from low efficiencies. However, new research at MIT using nanoscale materials finally shows how thermophotovoltaics could become competitive with their traditional cousins, and grant benefits such as storing solar energy in the form of heat to postpone conversion into electricity.

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