Paint-on Solar Cells: Let Walls Power Your Home

Gone are the days when we used to paint our walls with glossy paints and then with vinyls. A new technique will change the face of the walls and allow you to beautify your walls with solar cells.

The technique has been developed by scientists at the New Jersey Institute of technology. These scientists claim to have developed a way to create a solar cell that can be painted on flexible plastic sheets. To achieve solar cells these scientists have used a complex combination of carbon nanotubes and carbon Buckyball molecules to create a series of snake-like patterns which can conduct electricity.

When sunlight falls on the surface of this paint it excites the polymer backing, which in turn releases electrons. Buckyball molecules catch electrons but they cannot transmit them. For transmitting electrons in a flow scientists have used carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes act as a copper wire to conduct the free flowing electrons, thus generating electricity.

Scientists also hope that the technique will not be expensive and will be easy to implement. Once the material is painted on walls, ceiling or on the roof top it can provide enough electricity to power your home. This technology will someday allow homeowners to paint sheets of the material with a machine that will not be much different from an ink-jet printer and all you will have to do is just paste them on your walls and enjoy free power.