An area of interest for both research and commercial aspirations has long been the application of nanotechnology to photovoltaics (solar cells). The most recent breakthrough comes from researchers at the University of Toronto.
The technology, which is essentially, nanoscale infrared particles that could potentially be incorporated into the kind of polymer (plastic) solar cells. Unfortuntately, as the article points out current experimental polymers can only convert between 3 percent and 12 percent of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. But it is anticipated that when these infrared particles are incorporated into these polymer solar cells, the materials could convert up to 30 percent of the sunlight energy into electricity.
This is just a sideline application of the technology, according to the researchers, the main target use is for night vision technologies.
As far as the solar panel applications, it sounds quite intriguing, but if solar energy initiatives continue to be as misguided as the one recently completed in Bavaria where there is a 180 days of rain and 179 days of fog earch year, it won’t matter how efficient they make the solar cells.