Bright future for alternative energy - Research
Even alternative energy technologies can sometimes be a little
greener, according to a Kansas State University graduate student’s
research.
Ayomi Perera, a doctoral student in chemistry, Sri Lanka, is working
under Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry, to improve dye-sensitised
solar cells. The cells are a solar technology that use a dye to help
generate energy from sunlight.
By creating a less toxic dye and combining it with a bacteria,
Perera’s solar cells are friendlier to the environment and living
organisms - making an alternative energy solution to fossil fuels even
greener.
“Dye-sensitised solar cells, which are solar cells with
light-absorbing dye, have been around for more than 20 years, but their
highest efficiency has stayed close to 11 percent for some time,” Perera
said.
“So the thought was that rather than trying to increase the
efficiency, let’s try to make the technology more green.”
To make the solar cells greener and more efficient, Perera begins
with the bacteria Mycobacterium smegmatis. A mycrobacterium is a type of
pathogen that can cause diseases such as tuberculosis. Perera is using a
species that is completely harmless and can be found in soil and
cornflakes.
It also produces the protein MspA, which can be used for numerous
applications once it has been chemically purified.
After purification, Perera combines the protein with a synthesised
dye that is less toxic than traditional dyes. The protein-dye mixture is
coated onto individual solar cells - which form large solar panels when
assembled - and is then tested with artificial sunlight to measure
energy output.
“The idea is that the protein acts as a matrix for electron transfer
for this dye that absorbs sunlight,” Perera said.
“We want the protein to be able to capture the electron that the dye
gives out and then transfer that electron in one direction, thereby
generating an electrical current.”
Although the new dye-sensitised solar cells currently do not improve
on the technology’s ability to convert sunlight into electrical current,
the technology is the first of its kind and could help low-cost solar
cells become a more viable option in the alternative energy field.
“This type of research where you have a biodegradable or
environmental-friendly component inside a solar cell has not been done
before, and the research is still in its early stages right now,” Perera
said.
“But we have noticed that it’s working and that means that the
protein is not decomposed in the light and electric generating
conditions.
Because of that we believe that we’ve actually made the first
protein-incorporated solar cell.”
In February, Perera was one of two K-State graduate students named a
winner at the ninth annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit in Topeka.
She received a $500 scholarship from KansasBio and will present her
poster, “Design of a ‘Greener’ Solar Cell using Mycobacterial Protein
MspA,” at the organisation’s board of directors’ meeting in May.
Perera said the summit benefited her research because it gave her the
chance to share her work with State legislators in addition to the
scientific community.
As a result, legislators can understand the work and how it affects
Kansas.
“We know that fossil fuels are going to run out in the very near
future,” Perera said. “Kansas is getting a reputation as one of the
central places in the US for alternative energy research because of the
abundance of sunlight and wind.
“I want to contribute to that and to the betterment of humanity with
this research.”
Source: Kansas
State University
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