“Fool’s gold” leads to new options for cheap solar energy

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/nov/%E2%80%9Cfool%E2%80%99s-gold%E2%80%9D-leads-new-options-cheap-solar-energy

“Fool’s gold” leads to new options for cheap solar energy

11-23-11

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Pyrite was of interest early in the solar energy era because it had an enormous capacity to absorb solar energy, was abundant, and could be used in layers 2,000 times thinner than some of its competitors, such as silicon. However, it didn’t effectively convert the solar energy into electricity.

In the new study, the researchers found out why. In the process of creating solar cells, which takes a substantial amount of heat, pyrite starts to decompose and forms products that prevent the creation of electricity.

Based on their new understanding of exactly what the problem was, the research team then sought and found compounds that had the same capabilities of pyrite but didn’t decompose. One of them was iron silicon sulfide.

“Iron is about the cheapest element in the world to extract from nature, silicon is second, and sulfur is virtually free,” Keszler said. “These compounds would be stable, safe, and would not decompose. There’s nothing here that looks like a show-stopper in the creation of a new class of solar energy materials.”

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