Flexibility, solar cells

Electrodeposition has been attempted also on flexible substrates within the scope of fabricating flexible solar cells. Huang et al. [177] investigated the electrodeposition of CIS on Au-coated plastic substrate from aqueous acidic (pH 1.65) solutions of millimolar CuCh, InCb, Se02, containing triethanolamine and sodium citrate. Stoichiometric, semiconductive CIS films (Eg = 1.18 eV) were obtained after annealing at 150 °C in nitrogen. 

Pagliaro, M., Palmisano, G. and Ciriminna, R. (2008) Flexible Solar Cells, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim. 

Mario has co-invented a number of novel technologies, some of which have been commercialized. He is author of the management books Scenario Qualita and Lean Banking and co-author of The Future of Glycerol (RSC Publishing, 2008) and Flexible Solar Cells (Wiley-VCH,... 

M. Pagliaro, G. Palmisano and R. Ciriminna, Flexible Solar Cells, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2008. 

Figure 9. Flexible Solar Cell Technology Incorporated into a Military Tent...

Folded solar cell architectures In order to benefit from the enhanced light absorption under the illumination at inclined incident angles, folded solar cell architectures have been developed for organic solar cells [24] (Fig. 9). An additional - and no less pronounced - light-trapping effect is due to multiple reflections and absorptions. Using substrates with a three-dimensional surface topography at the micrometer scale allows one to realize compact and flexible solar cells. Different... 

Solar cells can directly convert solar energy into electricity, which is clean and inexhaustible. Generally, the solar cells are built with a planar sandwiched structure on the rigid substrate, which restricts their applications in many fields. Flexible polymer substrates, such as poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (PET), poly(ethylenenaphthalate) (PEN), and polydimeth-ylsiloxane (PDMS), have been widely used to fabricate flexible solar cells. With high stability and flexibility, the solar cells can easily integrate with other portable or wearable devices to significantly extend their applications. 

FIGURE 9.1 Flexible solar cells based on different kinds of polymer substrates. (A) Photograph of a flexible DSSC based on ITO-coated PET substrate wrapped on a pen. (B) Schematic illustration of the layer structure of a solid-state DSSC based on PEDOT on Goretex film as a counter electrode. (C) Schematic illustration (left) and photograph (right) of the PSC based on ITO-coated PET substrate. (D) Comparison of PSCs fabricated on conventional FTO/glass and flexible PEDOT PSS/PET substrate. (E) Schematic illustration of the flexible solar cell based on Ag-grid/PET substrate. 

Figure 1.65 (a) Roll-to-roU production of fully printed flexible solar cells [560], speculated applications of integrated OPV panels/modules in (b) roof of bus stop [561],... 

The textile with embedded flexible solar cells overcomes the aforementioned technical problems. According to a first aspect, its subject matter is a reliable photovoltaic composite, employed in particular for solar protection, which includes at least one flexible photovoltaic panel and at least one textile panel on the outside face, on which the said photovoltaic panel is laminated by means of a first connecting layer. In a characteristic manner, in the direction transverse to that in which it is to be rolled and at any level of the photovoltaic panel, the said composite is of more-or-less constant thickness, including one or more reduced thickness zones, where the said reduced thickness corresponds to the thickness of the textile panel possibly covered with a film on its inside face. This particular arrangement is used to prevent the formation of folds in the composite, whether during the rolling operation or in the deployed position. 

Finally, several patents have been published during the last couple of decades on flexible solar cells integrated to blinds, awnings and other protective strucmres [8—20]. 

Schubert, M.B., Merz, R., 2009. Flexible solar cells and modules. Philos. Mag. 89, 2623-2644. Sen, A.K., 2008. Coated Textiles Principles and Applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. 

Another technology is represented by solar clothing, in which the solar energy is harvested through a new generation of flexible solar cells (Lee et al., 2013). Integration of flexible solar cells into clothing can provide power for portable electronic devices. 

Schubert, M.B., Werner, J.H., 2006. Flexible solar cells for clothing. Mater. Today 9 (6), 42-50. 

In recent years, the uses of synthetic polymers have expanded from making simple objects to much more complex applications such as targeted drug delivery systems and flexible solar cells. In any case, the application for the polymer is driven by its physical and chemical properties, notably bulk properties such as tensile strength, elasticity, and clarity. The structure of the monomer largely determines the chemical properties of the polymer, as well as other important measurable quantities, such as the glass transition temperature, crystallinity, and solubility. While some impor-... 

CNPs are novel two-dimensional stmctures with a mixture of semiconducting and metallic tubes. The electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of CNPs have been widely investigated. Because of their flexibility and high conductivity, CNPs offer a wide range of novel applications, including flexible circuits, flexible displays, flexible solar cells, electronic papers, and sensing capabilities. In this section, the properties and potential applications based on the corresponding properties are reviewed. 

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