Northwestern chemistry professor Mark Ratner hopes that one day energy crisis can be solved with the help of blue jean dye and white house paint.The technology would use tiny nanostructures to convert sunlight into energy, similarly to the process of photosynthesis in plants.It's just one application of nanotechnology to the energy problem.
THE PROBLEM:
With oil prices topping $140 a barrel this week, and recent studies suggesting ethanol and other plant-based fuels may be worse for the environment than conventional fuels, pressure is growing to find a better solution. Wind and geothermal power can provide clean energy, but not enough of it. For a solution to be truly effective, it must be scalable. That is, it must produce enough energy to meet the world's needs - especially considering the rapid growth of countries like India and China.
A NEW KIND OF SOLAR PANEL:
Scientists are now trying to design solar panels using nanostructures that work like leaves, but better. The goal is 30 percent efficiency in converting sunlight into power - much higher than the efficiency of biofuels. While conventional solar panels made from silicon are about 18 percent efficient, the cost involved in making them is so high.Nanostructures, on the other hand, would use inexpensive materials to capture sunlight. That's where the blue jeans and house paint come in.
In artificial photosynthesis, you need a molecule to absorb the sunlight, but not any molecule will do. The molecules that we probably want to use are related to the blue jean dye that you've got," Ratner said. It's a planar molecule, it has the right shape and it has the right energy properties.
The dye is called a thalocyanine and is also found in shoe polish.
Once the molecules capture solar energy, that energy must be stored somewhere - otherwise, it will be given off as heat. White house paint contains titanium dioxide, and when mixed with the dye molecules, titanium dioxide holds on to the energy the dye collects.
THE PROBLEM:
With oil prices topping $140 a barrel this week, and recent studies suggesting ethanol and other plant-based fuels may be worse for the environment than conventional fuels, pressure is growing to find a better solution. Wind and geothermal power can provide clean energy, but not enough of it. For a solution to be truly effective, it must be scalable. That is, it must produce enough energy to meet the world's needs - especially considering the rapid growth of countries like India and China.
A NEW KIND OF SOLAR PANEL:
Scientists are now trying to design solar panels using nanostructures that work like leaves, but better. The goal is 30 percent efficiency in converting sunlight into power - much higher than the efficiency of biofuels. While conventional solar panels made from silicon are about 18 percent efficient, the cost involved in making them is so high.Nanostructures, on the other hand, would use inexpensive materials to capture sunlight. That's where the blue jeans and house paint come in.
In artificial photosynthesis, you need a molecule to absorb the sunlight, but not any molecule will do. The molecules that we probably want to use are related to the blue jean dye that you've got," Ratner said. It's a planar molecule, it has the right shape and it has the right energy properties.
The dye is called a thalocyanine and is also found in shoe polish.
Once the molecules capture solar energy, that energy must be stored somewhere - otherwise, it will be given off as heat. White house paint contains titanium dioxide, and when mixed with the dye molecules, titanium dioxide holds on to the energy the dye collects.
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