Incredibly tiny carbon tubes might one day lower the cost and increase the feasibility of solar
power, according to some promising preliminary research by a Notre Dame chemist. Actually,
"incredibly tiny" may be an overstatement since it would take more than 25 million carbon
nanotubes lined up side-by-side to equal an inch. The unusual tiny chemical structures, however,
have some curious electronic properties that seem to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic cells.
At last September's American Chemical Society symposium on the next generation of
solar energy production, Professor Prashant Kamat reported that he and his colleagues found that
when they inserted carbon nanotubes into the structure of solar cells composed of cadmium
sulfide, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, they were able to double the cell's efficiency in
converting light into energy.
(January 2007)
