Nanotechnology for Solar and Wind Energy ...

Nanotechnology for Solar and Wind Energy Applications* Recent Trends and Future Development Sibu Sam Johna, Pravesh Malviyaa, Nitish Sharmaa, Vijay K. Manjhia Department of Energy, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology MANIT Bhopal (M.P), India

Abstract— Nanotechnology is growing very fast due to reduced production cost and increased usage. Nanotechnology has a lot of energy applications which is increasing day by day. In this review paper the detailed contributions from nanotechnology to the field of energy applications is the center of importance. This paper gathers the recent developments of nanotechnology to non-conventional energy production, storage and use. The solar, wind, hydrogen, batteries and super conductors are defined as the most important fields of assistance of nanotechnology. The objective of this paper is to provide some remarkable contributions of several research labs and companies in India and across world in the field of nanotechnology for energy applications. They are not only helping in the providing cheap and improved energy but also helping in the cause of sustainable development.

Dr. K. Sudhakar Assistant Professor: Department of Energy. Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology MANIT Bhopal (M.P), India

II. SOLAR CELLS Type, design and shape of the nanostructure are impoertant paramenters to calculate the efficiency of the solar cell. [4]. Nanostructured solar cells have various advantages for solar cells such as; The efficiency of single jucntion solar cell can be increased by using new concepts; Experimental limitations can be overcome in existing devices [5]. CIGS solar cell efficiency has been improved by adjustment of the ratio of Copper / Indium + Galium ratio within a small range (0.88– 0.92). Integrating nano surface trench structure design which takes lower visible light reflection rate and Si-Ge band alignment and the higher accumulated carrier, efficieny of solar cell can be increased up to 18% [7].

Keywords— CIS, CIGS, SiGe, ITO, SMAT, CVD, CeNSE,

A. Types Of Solar Cells I. INTRODUCTION The demand of energy has increased alarmingly. Without the sources the development of mankind has become impossible. Therefore the role of sustainable development came into existence which means development with protection of ecosystem and proper utilisation of fuels [1]. The other way of harnessing energy is from renewable resources like solar wind etc. The use of Photovoltiac solar cells and wind mills have gain importance for harnessing energy from sun and wind. To improve their efficiency nanotechnology came into existence. The use of Nanocrystal quantum dots proved useful in low power applications with an improved efficiency of 40% [2]. The main impact is by use of nanoparticles to lower cost processing of conventional thin films in form of cast inks. Various nanostructured coatings have been developed for advancement of light collection by the Photovoltaic module via an antireflection effect [3].

There are three categories of solar cells depending upon the advancements in nanotechnology: (i) Dye-sensitized solar cells, (ii) Hybrid organic solar cells, (iii) Quantum dot solar cells. [3]. (iv) Crystalline Silicon on glass (CSG) thin film [4’] The dye-sensitized solar cells are perhaps the earliest solar cells which utilize Nano scale components [4]. They are prepared by sandwiching dye sensitized films between two transparent electrodes. The first of its kind was Gratzel cell with transparent glass as anode and platinum as cathode with titanium dioxide film and an electrolyte between film and platinum [1]. Quantum dot solar cell is just nano semiconductor clusters with high photoconductivity. They are having high efficiency and are cost effective making it competitive to the non-renewable sources like coal, petroleum etc [3]. Organic solar cells are low manufacturing cost cells with an ability to have thin films due to high absorption capabilities. In case of hybrid organic cells, the electron accepting material is inorganic nanoparticle [8]. Cadmium

selenium (CdSe) based hybrid solar cell has CdSe act as electron receptor and semi crystalline polymer, poly (3hexylthiophene), P3HT as hole receptor. CdSe is known as optoelectronic material in solar cells and the size of nanoparticle CdSe differs the light emitted [9]. New generation of significantly effective photovoltaic and nano-composites for strong and light wind turbines. Energy storage can be improved by new generation batteries and super capacitors and fuel production can be increased by nano catalysts (10).

B. Solar Cells: development

Nanotechnology

applications

under

 A honeycomb has been developed in the Michigan Technological University, in which the lithium carbonate is used to keep the graphene sheets apart from each other. Efficiency of solar cell is up to 7.8 percent.  Copper-Indium selenide sulphide quantum dots solar cells have been demonstrated by Researchers at Los Alamos National lab. These quantum dots are non toxic and low cost.  For improvement in efficiency of solar cells Researchers at MIT are studying solar cells, These solar cells are of single molecule thick sheets of graphene.  In order to reduce the cost of solar cell with high efficiency researchers in MIT are developing solar cells that use graphene coating with zinc oxide nanowire.  The silicon substrate which are used in manufacturing of conventional solar cell, are replaced by gold nanoparticles.  Researchers at Princeton University are working on solar cells to reduce the losses caused by reflection of light.  Researchers at Duke University are scattering silver nanotubes over thin gold layer, this combination is also helpful in reducing losses caused by reflection of light.  Researchers at Nies-Bohr Institute are studying resonance effect due to which sunlight can be concentrated in nanowires resulting in an increase in the efficiency of solar cell.  A cheaper solar cell developed using iron oxidenanoparticles is designed to produce hydrogen.  Solar cell with 70 percent transparency to visible light can be formed by combination of silver nanowire, titanium di-oxide nanoparticle, polymer. These cells can be used in window panes.

 Cheaper solar cells can be formed using Titanium dioxide nanotubes filled with a polymer.  Efficient solar cells can be formed using combination of lead selenide quantum dots with titanium dioxide.  Surface of car can also be converted into solar cell using applying organic solar cells using spray painting.  Solar cells referred as ―Building Integrated Photovoltaics‖ thus for coating on building solar cells can replace paint [11].

III.

WIND ENERGY

There is a lot of potential for harnessing energy from the wind. Wind energy growing rapidly as renwable energy source worldwide. The world market is responding well to the cause of harnessing wind energy as the market grew considerably fulfilling the needs. In EU itself, installed capacity is of 9616 MW in the year 2011 [12]. Wind energy, is now an alternative to traditional energy sources to meet energy demand. However, wind energy also faces multiple challenges related to its sustainability as a key energy source. The main factors under consideration are manufacturing cost, environmental factors, site specific etc. Wind energy competes with other conventional sources for market share [13]. The weight of wind turbine also create a problem in transportation and installation of wind turbine. The increase in weight of wind turbine leads to increase in weight and cost of towers which will increase the installation cost. Surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) is basically used to create nano structured surfaces on metal surface. They are used in processing plate, tube and wire structures [14]. This not only increases the efficiency but also reduces fatigue problems. Polymer nanocomposites are considered as a material for wind turbine blades. However the properties of nanomaterials greatly depends on the purity of materials used and the structure. The method used for manufacturing is chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Though production is very reasonable in cost but there are always defects in the structures. The other problem associated with it is the dispersion of nanomaterials. The dispersion should be uniform to have better reinforcement. The process is slow and the dispersion is reversible in nature. The composite materials used are generally fibreglass or carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin and polyester resin [15].

A. Applications in Wind Energy  Increase the electricity generation by windmills. An epoxy containing carbon nanotubes is utilized to make windmill blades. Stronger and light weight blades can be made by the use of nanotube-filled epoxy. These longer blades increase the generation of electricity by each windmill.

 Reducing power loss in electric transmission lines. Researchers at Rice University are evolving lines comprising carbon nanotubes that will have expressively lower resistance than the lines being used currently in the electric transmission grid.

1. Suzlon Energy: It has a capacity of 3600 MW per annum. It is the leading wind energy company in India and worldwide it is in top five wind energy companies. It has centers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujrat etc [27].

 Nanotechnology can contribute towards optimization of wind power utilization using high strength lighter materials for rotor blades, composed of Nanomaterials, tribological coatings, and wear protection layers of bearings and gear boxes.

2. RRB Energy: It is one of the popular wind energy company. RRB Energy has been operational in India since 1987. It has a planned to intall 240000 MW by 2020 [28].

 Conductive nanomaterial for enhancing lightening protection.  Nano optimized power storing devices, which allow more efficient feeding of wind power in the grid.

IV. RESEARCH LABORATORIES IN INDIA Nanotechnology is being popular area to work for researches and it has gain interest in India as well. There are lot of centres in India who are carrying out their work in this field, much to the importance of energy alternatives. Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is working on developing Si nanowires and nano porous oxide membrane useful for photovoltaic applications [18]. The Prashant Kamat laboratory has been working on solar cells. They are continuing the research on quantum dot solar cell which will help in reducing the cost of solar cell [19]. Thematic Unit of Excellence at IIT Kanpur has done several research in nanotechnology for energy applications [20]. V D Swami and Company private limited, specialist in solar power plants in India, has done many projects under them. Their projects includes 25 kWp Rooftop PV Plant at Larsen & Toubro ECC in Chennai, 1.25 kW Rooftop PV Plant at VDS House in Chennai, 1.80p kW Rooftop PV Plant at HSR Layout in Bangalore, 4.2 kWp Solyndra PV System in Chennai[21]. Nanosolar Centre for Nanoscience at Amrita University is working on low cost nano based projects for power applications and energy storage. For this they are developing DSSC and super capacitors [22]. Department of Electronics and Information Technology (Deity) has several projects under them based on nanotechnology under nanotechnology development programme. They used nanotechnology for several projects and completed them successfully [23]. The CSIR National Physical lab of Delhi has research area based on advancment of the design, synthesis, characterization of various nanostructured thermo-electric materials [24]. India ranks fifth in wind power among world. The wind power in India is estimated to be 49,368 MW and it is highest in Tamil Nadu [25]. The use of wind turbines with nanotechnology make it more feasible source of harnessing energy. There are several wind related companies offering machinery for harnessing wind energy. The top 10 companies are [26]

3. SRC Green Power: This company is recognized for supplying medium sized 55KW to 250KW wind turbine. Performing for over 20 years, this company can work in adverse conditions with easily available spare parts. They provide valuable services to small companies and individuals as well [29]. 4. WinWind: It is jointly venture of Siva Group. WinWind provides a variety of services. The company is planning to manufacture in india [30]. 5. Gamesa: it first came to Asia through India. It has set up companies at Chennai and Gujrat Its capacity is set to increase upto 800MW by 2013.

V. WORLDWIDE RESEARCH LABORATORIES There are lot of works that are carried in the field of nano solar cells. There are several research labs around the world who are working in this field. The Ginger lab in Washington are working in the field of low cost photovoltaics and focuses on nanostructured materials. There basic research areas are conjugated polymers, monocrystalline quantum dots and plasmon resonant metal nanoparticles [31]. A research lab named Organic and Nanostructured Electronics (ONE lab) in Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge are working on optoelectronic, electronic and photonic devices at nanoscale. They have developed integrated systems for nano structured thin film generation over both conventional and non-conventional systems [32]. National renewable energy laboratory (NREL), energy department of US, has increased the efficiency of solar cells upto 18.2%. This not only helped in increasing the efficiency of solar cell but also reduced the cost of manufacturing by reducing the need of anti-reflecting coating layers [33]. Atwater research group headed by Mr. Harry Atwater have contributed a lot in the field of nanotechnology [34]. The Ames Lab of energy department of US is working on Nanoscale Structures & Ultrafast Correlations in Magnetic Materials Nanotwinned Materials for Energy Technologies [35]. The Centre for Nanoscale Materials of Argonne National Laboratory has been working on NanoBio Interfaces for energy, electronics and medical applications, Nanofabrication & Devices for designing nanoscale devices and Nanophotonic [36]. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of US has given their contribution in developing High-Efficiency, Self-Concentrating Nanoscale Solar Cell by combining nanotechnology with conventional materials like cadmium, silicon etc during fabrication [37].

They have successfully developed cheap plastic solar cells making it useful for low power portable electronic devices [38]. Georgia Tech. research institute developed a nano 3D solar cell which captures more light and thus increases the efficiency upto 300%. They can be used in satellites, cell phones, military equipment etc [39]. Lieber research group worked on nanowire photovoltaics to develop nanowires for maximizing open circuit voltage [40]. Delft University of Technology basically works in design and fabrication of solar cells. They are now focusing on nano structured materials for developing highly efficient solar cells [41]. Nayang Technical University developed a nano solar cell that not only generates electricity but also emits light of different colours. It is developed by using a material named Perovskite [42].

[9]. Deshpande, M., Seyezhai, R. ―Review of hybrid solar cells based on CdSe and TiO2 materials‖ International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, vol 2 issue 3, (2013). [10]. European Commission, (2013). Nanotechnology: Research and Innovation the invisible giant tackling Europe’s future challenges [Online]. Available FTP: https://ec.europa.eu/research/industrial_technologies/pdf/nanotechnolog y_en.pdf [11]. Solar Cells: Nanotechnology Applications under Development [Online], Available FTP: http://www.understandingnano.com/solarcells.html [12]. Dursun, Bahtiyar, and Cihan Gokcol. "Impacts of the renewable energy law on the developments of wind energy in Turkey." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 40 (2014): 318-325. [13]. Tejeda, Jenny, and Susan Ferreira. "Applying Systems Thinking to Analyze Wind Energy Sustainability." Procedia Computer Science 28 (2014): 213-220. [14]. Li, Ying, and Jian Lu. "Lightweight structure design for wind energy by integrating nanostructured materials." Materials & Design 57 (2014): 689-696.

VI. SUMMARY

[15]. Ng, Kai-Wern, Wei-Haur Lam, and Saravanan Pichiah. "A review on potential applications of carbon nanotubes in marine current turbines." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 28 (2013): 331339.

The use of renewable sources will help in curbing the growing energy demand to a large extent. The solar and wind has a wide range of utility and should be utilised to its full potential. This theory of complete utilisation of energy sources is followed by all solar and wind energy related companies. They are striving hard to develop such technologies not only to harness these sources completely but also to improve the existing technologies. The slight improvement in existing systems will be quite beneficial for the people using those technologies. Several new companies are coming forward to bring out something new to this field and to improve the existing one. The implementation of these sources should be done on grass root level. Then only the technology will prove to be beneficial.

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