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RESEARCHOctober 6, 2008Polar bear fur inspires solar fibers In
the quest to make fabrics that turn sunlight into electricity, one
research team has turned to an unlikely source of inspiration: polar
bears. When ultraviolet light hits near the root of a polar bear hair the light scatters inside the hair and changes wavelength, producing luminescent light. The luminescent light warms the polar bear's skin. Polymer fibers coated with a material containing a fluorescent dye mimic polar bear hair; they're transparent to visible light but absorb ultraviolet light, which energizes the fluorescent dye. The fibers' transparency makes them suitable as coatings. Add a semiconductor material to the coated fibers, and you have photovoltaic fabrics. Though less efficient than rigid solar cells, energy harvesting fabrics have the advantage of flexibility; they can be made into vehicle and building skins and everyday objects like curtains and clothing. Research paper: Textile Solar Light Collectors Based on Models for Polar Bear Hair Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, published online September 13, 2008 Researchers' homepages: German Textile Research Center Northwest (German) Institute for Textile Chemistry and Chemical Fibres (German) Back to ERN October 6/13, 2008 |
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