A WALK IN THE WOODS - University at Buffalo

shortformERIC HANSONRESEARCH NEWSSolar cells may offerpower on the goImagine hiking an isolated stretch of the Appalachian Trail. Youfear you’re lost. The trail map isn’t helping. And the battery in yoursmartphone, with its GPS unit, is dead. “Man,” you nervously say toyourself, “I wish I could charge my phone.”Being stuck in a remote area with limited or no access toelectricity is more common than you might think. Just ask a soldier,a lumberjack or an angler. It’ll soon be less common, however,because researchers are developing energy-harvesting solar cellsthat can be sewn into clothing, backpacks and other materials.“They work like conventional solar cells but, because theyare flexible, like paper, we can affix them to many surfaces,”says Qiaoqiang Gan, assistant professor of electrical engineering.“With flexible solar cells, we can provide soldiers, hikersand other people on-the-go with a means to power their electronicdevices.”Before that happens, researchers must find a way to makeflexible solar cells more efficient and less expensive to manufacture.Gan is tackling the problem with the help from a teamof UB researchers and graduate students.Thin-film solar cells now used in industry are easy to installand lightweight, and they can be rolled onto rooftops like acarpet is rolled onto a floor. Made of silicon and other inorganicmaterials, they’re generally more costly to manufacture thanconventional solar panels. On the other hand, liquid-based solarcells—the type Gan is working on—are a kind of thin-film solarcell. But because they come in liquid form, they can be affixed toa greater variety of surfaces.“Unlike what’s available today, liquid-based solarcells are not rigid. They’re flexible, like paper,” Ganreiterates. “As a result, they can be fabricated over large areas,potentially becoming as inexpensive as paint.” The referenceto paint does not include a price point but rather the idea thatliquid solar cells could one day be applied to surfaces as easilyas paint is to walls.The main reason liquid-based solar cells aren’t yet for saleis that they don’t produce enough power to make them competitivewith other solar panels. Gan is working to change that,using an assortment of high-powered computers, lasers andother gadgets to devise ways to incorporate tiny bits of metalinto solar cells. The metal, when placed next to the solar cells,should help them convert more sunlight into electricity.So far, he has conducted computer simulations that suggestthe nanostructure will significantly boost the solar cell’spower conversion. Gan will work with Alexander N. Cartwright,UB professor of electrical engineering and biomedical engineering,and vice president for research and economic development,to combine the metal and the solar cell. The results, he sayswith a grin, should be electrifying.UNIVERSITY NEWSShake, rattle and not much rollEarly results from an earthquake simulation test suggest that cold-formed-steel buildingsmay be able to withstand major earthquakes. Researchers from The Johns HopkinsUniversity, who led the experiment Aug. 16 at UB’s Structural Engineering and EarthquakeSimulation Laboratory, programmed the shake tables to mimic ground forces feltduring 1994’s catastrophic earthquake in Northridge, Calif. During the test, the shaketables violently jolted the building back and forth, causing cracks to interior and exteriorwalls. But the building, based on preliminary analysis, withstood the quake’s forces.6 UBTODAY Fall 2013 www.buffalo.edu/ubt