We've told you how carbon nanotubes are being used for some
amazing things, like the basis of a wearable energy-harvesting
fabric, and reinforcing carbon fiber composite to make it
seaworthy for duty as a boat construction material. Now, in a
major first, researchers at Stanford University have built a
prototype of an all-carbon solar cell, including carbon
nanotubes. Why carbon? Because it's a lot cheaper than silicon,
and it's also abundant and highly conductive. Carbon has the
potential to produce high performance for its low cost, said
Stanford Professor of Chemical Engineering, and the study's
senior author, Zhenan Bao, in a university news article. "Carbon
nanotubes have extraordinary electrical conductivity and light-
absorption properties." The study builds on previous work done
in her research group's lab. The results were published in an
article in ACS Nano (subscription or purchase only). Researchers
at Stanford University have built a prototype of an all-carbon
solar cell that includes carbon nanot