According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), living viruses can be used to mount highly conductive carbon nanotubes in the positive electrode structure of dye-sensitized solar cells, which can increase cell efficiency by almost one-third.
A dye-sensitized solar cell is a photoelectrochemical system made of a semiconductor element material located between a photosensitive positive electrode and an electrolyte. Titanium dioxide coated with dye absorbs sunlight and releases electrons into the positive electrode. Then those electrons will be collected to drive the load and then returned to the electrolyte via the cathode, and so on. MIT researchers said that by intertwining carbon nanotubes and positive electrodes with viruses, the conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells can be increased from 8% to less than 10.6%.
The research team was led by MIT professor Angela Belcher. The team includes fellow doctors XiangnanDang and HyunjungYi, and two other professors PaulaHammond and MichaelStrano.
Belcher has previously confirmed a virus called M13 that stimulates "hydrogene economy" and spawns thin-film batteries. The team's latest research results, for the first time, use viruses to separate the nanotubes inside the solar cell to avoid the nanotubes agglomerating or causing a short circuit. Each virus can adsorb 10 nanotubes in a region of about 300 peptide molecules, and this genetically engineered virus secretes a titanium dioxide coating.
If this new technology lab can succeed, the nanotube-enhanced solar cell will enter the 2011 market with an estimated $156 billion worth of microbiological technology products. According to market research firm BCC Research, the market size could grow to more than US$259 billion in 2016.
The so-called microbial technology products, including natural yeast, brewed beer, and M13 genetically engineered microorganisms such as those developed by MIT, can be applied to insulin, biodiesel, and metallurgical products.
The M13 virus consists of a standard DNA sequence (coil on the right side of the figure) with carbon nanotubes (grey) adsorbed on it and is maintained in a fixed position. The titanium dioxide coating (yellow) attached to the dye molecule (red) surrounds the virus and carbon nanotubes (Source: MattKlug, Biomolecular Materials Group, MIT)
Belcher said that the new technology developed at MIT only requires a simple step in the dye-sensitized solar cell process and can also be applied to other types of organic and quantum-dot solar cells.
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