Forget dull colored solar cells, install colorful solar panels

 SHANGHAI: Solar cells and panels usually look monochromatic, but soon you'll be able to install colorful solar panels on your roof. The beauty of the building can also be enhanced with colorful solar cells.

We know that because of innovation, solar cells are now being installed on the outside of buildings, like bricks or wallpaper, instead of roofs. Earlier, their slaty color was affecting the beauty of the building, but now American experts have made colorful solar cells, which increases their beauty but does not affect the performance.
The research, conducted by Zen Peng Lai of Shanghai Jiaotong University and colleagues, is detailed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. They have developed a new technology of structural material called 'photonic glass'.

Photonic glass can be applied to the surface of a solar cell in the form of a spray. This glass actually consists of microscopic grains of zinc sulphide which have dielectric properties. Most of the light passes through them, but some colors are reflected back, including some shades of blue, green, and violet.

The good thing is that solar cells generate electricity from light at an efficiency of 21.5 to 22.6 percent, and that's an excellent performance as well. In many experiments, the solar cell retained its strength and color and thus did not lose its ability to reflect color.

The good thing is that solar cells can be produced on a large commercial scale in a cost-effective and efficient manner.