Butterfly Wings are natural solar collectors

Natural Solar Collectors in Butterfly Wings

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Source: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewthread?thread=24463

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The discovery that butterfly wings have scales that act as tiny solar collectors has led scientists

in China and Japan to design a more efficient solar cell that could be used for powering

homes, businesses, and other applications in the future.

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In the study, Di Zhang and colleagues note that scientists are searching for new materials to

improve light-harvesting in so-called dye-sensitized solar cells, also known as Grätzel cells for

inventor Michael Grätzel. These cells have the highest light-conversion efficiencies among all

solar cells — as high as 10 percent.

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The researchers turned to the microscopic solar scales on butterfly wings in their search for

improvements. Using natural butterfly wings as a mold or template, they made copies of the

solar collectors and transferred those light-harvesting structures to Grätzel cells. Laboratory

tests showed that the butterfly wing solar collector absorbed light more efficiently than

conventional dye-sensitized cells. The fabrication process is simpler and faster than other

methods, and could be used to manufacture other commercially valuable devices, the

researchers say.