Course:ECON371/UBCO2010WT1/GROUP7/Article7
In the "Transparent Conductive Material Could Lead to Power" article, scientists in the United States Department of Energy in Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories have produced a polymer able to generate electricity, that may pave way to reducing the burning of fossil fuels. The large sheet of transparent material is spread over a large surface area. Scientists claim that the thin layer of the polymer/fullerene blend solution possess a range of applications that could in fact reduce future harmful emissions. The creation of the substance is a cost-effective method, claims Zhihua Xu (a material scientist at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. Zu explains the process of creating the polymer sheet. Micro-sized water droplets are added thinly across the polymer solution only to evaporate and create a hexagonal patterned film. Tests were conducted to retrieve information about the rate of charge transport throughout the material through microscopic research. The tests revealed that the slower the water evaporates the more densely packed is the hexagonal patterning amongst the sheet, thus better conductive properties.
There are plenty environmental reasons to kick the fossil fuel habit, such as the risks associated with climate change and peak oil. However, it will take a massive social investment to kick the fossil fuel addiction. Conventional energy companies are no doubt adapting to the demanding “green” environment, giving rise to current uniform standards. These standards are creating incentives for research companies to invent innovative technologies which will work to replenish our environment, uplifting our dependence on fossil fuels.
Figure 1- A standard is imposed on Company X to meet emissions at x’. (MAC) is the present emmision level while (MAC’) is the future. The demand for alternative energy results in research companies producing innovative technologies to alleviate the dependence on conventional energy. This creates a downward effect on the curve.
The cost effectiveness analysis regarding polymer rich film windows is rather simple, as this method of alternative energy entails a less expensive avenue. A simple film coating the window coupled with solar panels will greatly reduce energy costs in the long run. A cost benefit analysis regarding the windows proves to be more a more efficient in the long run, as the savings over a period of time are greater than the costs associated with the initial investment. Essentially, a consumer will receive a greater utility through the replacement of conventional electricity with solar power.
Willingness to pay - A hedonic estimation – Retailers would focus on the income savings associated with a house using alternative energy as opposed to conventional. This has influence on the price of the house, as the energy savings pulls down the initial cost. The trouble with this method is that houses with energy technology can be rather expensive, deterring consumers who are in it for the short run. Another method is contingent valuation, in which surveys regarding people’s willingness to pay are utilized. It does seem to be rather simple and easy, however accuracy is quite uncertain. The unknown person could possibly express a high willingness to pay for the energy conserving windows, even though they don’t actually want to pay the initial start up cost.
Transparent Conductive Material Could Lead to Power-Generating Windows Combines elements for light harvesting and electric charge transport over large, transparent areas November 3, 2010
UPTON, NY — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory have fabricated transparent thin films capable of absorbing light and generating electric charge over a relatively large area. The material, described in the journal Chemistry of Materials, could be used to develop transparent solar panels or even windows that absorb solar energy to generate electricity. The material consists of a semiconducting polymer doped with carbon-rich fullerenes. Under carefully controlled conditions, the material self-assembles to form a reproducible pattern of micron-size hexagon-shaped cells over a relatively large area (up to several millimeters). “Though such honeycomb-patterned thin films have previously been made using conventional polymers like polystyrene, this is the first report of such a material that blends semiconductors and fullerenes to absorb light and efficiently generate charge and charge separation,” said lead scientist Mircea Cotlet, a physical chemist at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). Furthermore, the material remains largely transparent because the polymer chains pack densely only at the edges of the hexagons, while remaining loosely packed and spread very thin across the centers. “The densely packed edges strongly absorb light and may also facilitate conducting electricity,” Cotlet explained, “while the centers do not absorb much light and are relatively transparent.”
“Combining these traits and achieving large-scale patterning could enable a wide range of practical applications, such as energy-generating solar windows, transparent solar panels, and new kinds of optical displays,” said co-author Zhihua Xu, a materials scientist at the CFN. “Imagine a house with windows made of this kind of material, which, combined with a solar roof, would cut its electricity costs significantly. This is pretty exciting,” Cotlet said. The scientists fabricated the honeycomb thin films by creating a flow of micrometer-size water droplets across a thin layer of the polymer/fullerene blend solution. These water droplets self-assembled into large arrays within the polymer solution. As the solvent completely evaporates, the polymer forms a hexagonal honeycomb pattern over a large area. “This is a cost-effective method, with potential to be scaled up from the laboratory to industrial-scale production,” Xu said. The scientists verified the uniformity of the honeycomb structure with various scanning probe and electron microscopy techniques, and tested the optical properties and charge generation at various parts of the honeycomb structure (edges, centers, and nodes where individual cells connect) using time-resolved confocal fluorescence microscopy. The scientists also found that the degree of polymer packing was determined by the rate of solvent evaporation, which in turn determines the rate of charge transport through the material. “The slower the solvent evaporates, the more tightly packed the polymer, and the better the charge transport,” Cotlet said. “Our work provides a deeper understanding of the optical properties of the honeycomb structure. The next step will be to use these honeycomb thin films to fabricate transparent and flexible organic solar cells and other devices,” he said. The research was supported at Los Alamos by the DOE Office of Science. The work was also carried out in part at the CFN and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies Gateway to Los Alamos facility.
Prof's Comments
You are right to focus on movements of the MAC curve. However, I think that this technology could also be considered an inward shift of the MAC, not a rotation. If the technology is cost effective, then it will be adopted on its own, which would reduce the total amount of emissions even if there are no policies in place to encourage it.