Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have successfully created electricity-generating solar cells with the chemicals found in the shells of shrimps and other crustaceans.
Chitin and chitosan are materials founds in shrimp shells and these materials are much cheaper to produce when compared to the expensive materials, currently used to create nano structured solar panels such as ruthenium.
The researchers, from QMUL’s School of Engineering and Materials Science, use a process known as ‘hydrothermal carbonization’. This creates the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from the chemicals found in crustacean shells. They then coat standard zinc oxide nanorods with the CQDs to make the solar cells- (it’s much more straight forward than it sounds!)
As it stands, the efficiency of creating solar cells with these materials is relatively low. Now this technology might not ever be as effective as our silicon solar cells and used on rooftops. However, if research continues and the science is improved, these materials could aid gadgets such as tablets and mobile phones and even possibly window solar panels! The translucent materials of shrimp shells could be used to create transparent films to go over windows that filter out light to be used in solar energy.
‘This could be a great new way to make these versatile, quick and easy to produce solar cells from readily available, sustainable materials’ – Dr. Joe Briscoe, Queen Mary University of London.
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