CE_Solar Slides Energy 英文 太阳能.pptVIP

Clean Solar Energy The impact of nanoscale science on solar energy production What is Solar Energy? Energy produced by the sun Clean, renewable source of energy Harnessed by solar collection methods such as solar cells Converted into usable energy such as electricity Energy from the Sun is Abundant Solar power systems installed in the areas defined by the dark disks could meet the worlds current total energy demand Current U.S. Energy Demand The US consumes ~25% of the world’s energy, but has only 4.5% of its population Solar cells would need to cover an area comparable to the size of Texas to meet US energy demand today Projected U.S. Energy Demand in 2050 To meet projected U.S. demand in 2050, solar cells would need to cover approximately one third of the U.S. Solar Panel Use Today Large companies like Google, Walmart, and Microsoft use solar energy to partially power some of their facilities Photovoltaic Solar Cells Generate electricity directly from sunlight 2 Main types: Single-crystal silicon (traditional) Widespread Expensive to manufacture Dye-sensitized (“nano”) Newer, less proven Inexpensive to manufacture Flexible Solar Cells are Converters of Energy… Solar cells are devices that take light energy as input and convert it into electrical energy …But Not All Energy is Converted A Little Background on Light Different colors of light have different wavelengths and different energies Absorption of Light by Atoms Absorption of Light by Molecules Molecules have multiple atoms bonded together More energy states in molecules than atoms More electron “jumps” possible - light with a range of frequencies are absorbed Absorption of Light by Ionic Compounds Electrons can jump between “bands” Incident light with energy ≥ than the “band gap” energy can be used to excite the electrons So What Does this Mean for Solar Cells? In dye-sensitized solar cells… Talk about highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) A Closer Loo