QUT researchers have used carbon dots, created from human hair waste sourced from a Brisbane barbershop, to create a kind of \u201carmour\u201d to improve the performance of cutting-edge solar technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a study published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A<\/a>, the researchers led by Professor Hongxia Wang in collaboration with Associate Professor Prashant Sonar of QUT\u2019s Centre for Materials Science<\/a> showed the carbon nanodots could be used to improve the performance of perovskites solar cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perovskites solar cells, a relatively new photovoltaic technology, are seen as the best PV candidate to deliver low-cost, highly efficient solar electricity in coming years. They have proven to be as effective in power conversion efficiency as the current commercially available monocrystalline silicon solar cells, but the hurdles for researchers in this area is to make the technology cheaper and more stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike silicon cells, they are created with a compound that is easily manufactured, and as they are flexible they could be used in scenarios such as solar-powered clothing, backpacks that charge your devices on the go and even tents that could serve as standalone power sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the second major piece of research to come as a result of a human hair derived carbon dots as multifunctional material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, Associate Professor Prashant Sonar led a research team, including Centre for Materials Science research fellow Amandeep Singh Pannu, that turned hair scraps into carbon nanodots by breaking down the hairs and then burning them at 240 degrees celsius. In that study, the researchers showed the carbon dots could be turned into flexible displays that could be used in future smart devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this new study, Professor Wang\u2019s research team, including Dr Ngoc Duy Pham, and Mr Pannu, working with Professor Prashant Sonar\u2019s group, used the carbon nanodots on perovskite solar cells out of curiosity. Professor Wang\u2019s team had previously found that nanostructured carbon materials could be used to improve a cell\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After adding a solution of carbon dots into the process of making the perovskites, Professor Wang\u2019s team found the carbon dots forming a wave-like perovskite layer where the perovskite crystals are surrounded by the carbon dots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt creates a kind of protective layer, a kind of armour,\u201d Professor Wang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt protects the perovskite material from moisture or other environmental factors, which can cause damage to the materials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study found that perovskite solar cells covered with the carbon dots had a higher power conversion efficiency and a greater stability than perovskite cells without the carbon dots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Wang has been researching advanced solar cells for about 20 years, and working with perovskite cells since they were invented about a decade ago, with the primary objective of developing cost-effective, stable photovoltaics materials and devices, to help solve the energy issue in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur final target is to make solar electricity cheaper, easier to access, longer lasting and to make PV devices lightweight because current solar cells are very heavy,\u201d Professor Wang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n