Eco Factor: Efficient solar panels made from GFP from jellyfish.
Researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, are planning to produce inexpensive solar panels using protein from jellyfish. The photovoltaic device will be based on the use of green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. The process starts by depositing two aluminum electrodes with a tiny gap between them onto a silicon dioxide substrate.
A droplet of green fluorescent protein is then added on top after which the protein assembles itself strands between the electrodes. On exposure to ultraviolet light, the GFP absorbs photons to generate electricity. The technology in use seems quite similar to the one used on dye-sensitized solar cells, however, unlike those Grätzel cells, the GFP cells don’t require the addition of expensive materials, such as titanium dioxide.
Moreover, GFP can also be used to create a biological fuel cell that generates electricity without the need for an external source of light. Here the team uses light emitted from a mixture of chemicals to produce light, which is then used to produce electricity.
Via: New Scientist
