Scientists slurp conductive fluid for paintable solar panels
"Like you phrasing a newspaper, you can print solar cells," said Richard L. Brutchey, assistant professor of chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in a account .
Past attempts in this area have tended to produce liquids that had an insulating quality on the crystals he explained, but the group has developed a new synthetic fluid that allows the conduction of electricity. The 1,2,3,4-thiatriazole-5-thiolate anion gas also has the advantage of being liquid at the relatively low temperature of 100 degrees Centigrade, allowing it to be painted onto most plastic surfaces.
Before you go rushing down to the superior-tech hardware store, there's a long way to go for this kind of technology. Cadmium is toxic, and the team is now looking at surrogate chemicals to grow the cells in.
"While the commercialization of this technology is still years away, we see a clear path forward toward integrating this into the next times of solar cell technologies," Brutchey said.




