Luminescent glass to increase the efficiency of solar panels.
Luminescent glass to increase the efficiency of solar panels.
A specially created luminous glass absorbs ultraviolet radiation and converts it into visible light. The efficiency of traditional solar panels is about 20%, but using solar luminous glass it is 30%.
The technology of making luminescent glass
Description:
A specially created luminous glass absorbs ultraviolet radiation and converts it into visible light.
When using such a glass to protect the solar panels (batteries) energy of the ultraviolet light converted to electric. This increases the efficiency of the solar battery and the service life of the solar panels.
The efficiency of traditional solar panels is about 20%, but using solar luminous glass it is 30%. In the near future it is planned to increase the efficiency of solar cells with luminescent glass up to 40%.
Advantages:
– fluorescent glass increase the efficiency of traditional solar panels by 50-100%,
– environmentally friendly,
– fluorescent glass is easy to manufacture.
The technology of making luminescent glass:
The fluorescent glass is easy to manufacture. First glass of boiled at a temperature of 1500 degrees Celsius, then formed. To the glass glowed under UV exposure, it is necessary to introduce silver ions, and then group them in clusters of a certain size.
So next comes the stage of ion exchange: the glass is immersed in a molten salt of silver to 320 °C, and the ions of silver penetrate into the glass, replacing sodium ions. Thus, the high concentration of silver ions are inside of the glass surface layer of several micrometers.
To give the glass luminescent properties, its composition must include a cerium oxide, but in small quantities. Cerium is able to give its electron to silver making silver ions in atoms, required for the Assembly of clusters. Without luminescent properties of cerium glass does not show.
The last step of obtaining a luminescent glass — heat treatment. She needed to silver ions gathered in clusters, with a strictly defined size. Since we are talking about the nano-scale, a slight difference in size cause a large difference in the properties. The surface of the glass emits intense visible light, but if the cluster includes 2-4 atoms of silver. Clusters of a larger number of atoms may not have luminescent properties or to emit infrared light, which can be used to charge only certain types of solar panels.
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