Forget about ‘green’ – the new color of renewable energy is pink.
Researchers at Ohio State University (OSU) have developed dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) that are a bright shade of pink. The unlikely color is generated by mixing red dye and white metal oxide powder in materials that capture light.
OSU researchers state the pink materials convert light to electricity at one-quarter of the cost of commercially-available blue-hued silicon-based solar cells – but at the moment, the conversion level is at half the efficiency of the silicon-based solar cells.
‘We believe that one day, DSSC efficiency can reach levels comparable to any solar cell,’ says Yiying Wu, assistant professor of chemistry at OSU. ‘The major advantage of DSSCs is that the cost is low. That is why DSSCs are so interesting to us, and so important.’
If pink isn't your color, don't worry – OSU's researchers are studying new dyes and dye combinations.
