New Transparent Conductive Thin Film Will Improve Solar Cell Efficiency

Researchers at the University of Korea and the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago have developed a new thin film material that is highly conductive, bendable, stretched, and almost completely transparent. The film can help create more efficient solar panels, self-heating smart windows, flexible displays, and high-performance cooling surfaces. The most significant property of this film is its unique combination of transparency and conductivity. In most materials, particles that carry charges also tend to interact with light, making the material opaque. However, the research team developed a highly conductive copper fiber mesh with a large enough pore size to allow light to pass through, with a transparency of 92%.

This material may be the best choice for transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) for solar panels and smart windows. The industry standard material for TCEs constructed is indium doped tin oxide (ITO). However, this material is brittle and transparent at the expense of conductivity.

This material also has excellent mechanical properties. According to the researchers, the film can actually stretch 580%, still retain one-fifth of its electrical conductivity, or it can be bent a thousand times at a 5 mm (0.2 inch) radius with no significant change in performance.