Copper Catalyst Could Make Solar Cells Cheaper
Solar cells are the future but for now they are resource-intensive, expensive and not very efficient - but the researchers in a new study can help with those first two. To make a solar cell, machines etch nanoscale spikes into a silicon wafer in order to maximize its surface area and the amount of sunlight that can reach it. Metal particles have been used as a catalyst in this process because etching is accelerated near metal particles. At first, gold was the metal of choice but that was never going to work in mass production so scientists found a way to switch to silver particles - much cheaper at around $20 per troy ounce but still not cost-effective enough for mass use, even in small amounts, when it comes to even a small, but typical for solar, 100MW facility. read more
