Spinach Could Power Better Solar Cells

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zavvy

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<b>Spinach Could Power Better Solar Cells</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />An electronic device that uses spinach to convert light into electrical charge has been developed by US researchers.<br /><br />Shuguang Zhang at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, and research collaborators integrated a protein complex derived from spinach chloroplasts with organic semiconductors to make a solar cell that could be combined with solid state electronics. <br /><br />Chloroplasts are structures in plants cells, packed with chlorophyll - the substance that gives leaves their green colour and allows them to photosynthesise.<br /><br />"Nature has been doing this for billions of years," Zhang told New Scientist. "This is the first time we've been able to harness it."<br /><br />The resulting cells are much thinner and lighter than existing solar panels and could eventually be used to make much more efficient panels, says Zhang.<br /><br /><br />Watery environment <br /><br /><br />Previous efforts to integrate the energy harnessing capability of chlorophyll with conventional electronics have failed because it normally requires a watery environment in which to work.<br /><br />Zhang's team managed to artificially stabilise the protein complex at the heart of their system - comprised of 14 protein subunits and hundreds of chlorophyll molecules - using synthetic peptides to bind small amounts of water to it, within a sealed unit.<br /><br />Light particles, or photons, excite coupled pairs of electrons within chlorophyll, causing an electron to transfer to a nearby receptor molecule. <br /><br />Plants use this transfer to power photosynthesis - a chemical reaction that stores energy by converting carbon dioxide to sugar using light - and generates oxygen as a by product. The device developed by Zhang uses the same process to feed electrons into organic semiconductors aligned on top of a layer of glass. <br /><br />Limit
 
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a_lost_packet_

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Very cool.<br /><br />Yet another reason that spinach is good for ye! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>
 
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roguesaint

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They should name anything associated with this Project Popeye. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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