Researchers from Venezuela working on the design of nanomaterials for use in low-cost solar cells in order to increase the utilization of solar energy conversion into electricity.
Juan Matos, Center of Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), said it will reduce production costs of solar cells to the problem of electricity sector caused by drought.
In a press release the investigator said that the best solar cells are polycrystalline silicon, but those who develop the IVIC used titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, cadmium sulphide and silicon carbide.
He said that although the polycrystalline silicon solar energy converted to electricity in the order between 15 to 18 percent and who designs the IVIC have a conversion factor of 10 percent have the advantage of abundant materials used in Venezuela.
As for solar energy estimates that Venezuela has a great chance because only Perijá Peninsula to Paraguana has one of the highest proportions of the planet with an average annual solar radiation than 400 watts per square meter.
The intention of the Center for Nanotechnology Materials Engineering and IVIC is to make academic research excellence that can be translated into prototypes to solve problems in energy, environment and materials.
