New technology helps solar batteries work despite the weather

Solar panels are no longer so strange to us. However, they can only work effectively on sunny days. So on rainy days?

A group of researchers from Soochow University in China has come up with a promising solution to this problem: It is possible to generate electricity from raindrops.

Movement of raindrops can also generate electricity.

The study was published in the journal ACS Nano, which describes in detail the technology called nano or TENG friction generator (triboelectric nanogenerator) . TENG can generate electricity from friction of two materials when rubbed together, such as friction of tires with road surfaces or rolling movement of raindrops on solar panels.

'With this device, we can generate energy in many different weather conditions,' the researchers said.

The challenge here is to create a system that is not too complicated, bulky and qualified for roof mounting. To do this, the researchers coated two different layers of transparent polymer onto the solar cell surface. Using the same approach as standard DVD printing, researchers have added grooves on a polymer sheet to improve energy collection.

In the experiment, the polymer layer acted as a common electrode for both TENG and the lower solar cell, creating energy when rainwater hit and connected layers. Because the polymer coating is transparent, sunlight can still be absorbed, although slightly lower than when there is no coating.

Transparent polymer layers are added to produce electricity from raindrops.

This is not a completely new idea. In 2016, a group of researchers from China's Ocean University succeeded in generating electricity from solar panels even when it was raining, by covering the single-layer panels. Thin graphene.

Graphene is a two-dimensional material, containing carbon atoms linked together in hexagons. In addition to good electrical conductivity, the electrons in graphene can move freely on its surface.

Rainwater is the perfect source of soluble salts with positive and negative charges. As rainwater accumulates on the surface of graphene sheets, free electrons will combine with positively charged ions in rainwater to form a capacitor, then positively charged ions such as Calcium and Sodium. producing electric currents. Although the energy level is not much, it proves that the device can still work even when it rains.

In the future there will be active solar fields regardless of time or weather.

Despite the weather challenges, solar energy is fast becoming one of the fastest growing energy sources in the world. If researchers soon find a way to reduce production costs, this new technology could become a revolution in the field of renewable energy.

At that time, solar energy would become an ideal clean energy solution even in areas where there is no frequent sunlight. And one day, we can see how solar fields work regardless of the weather, whether it's raining, murky or even in the dark.