SCIENTISTS Invent PAINT That Can PRODUCE ELECTRICITY

The dream of finally being able to generate your own electricity at a low cost may soon come true – with high tech paint.

Forget solar panels, it’s now solar paint

U.S. scientists say they have made a major advance in renewable energy technology by inventing an inexpensive “solar paint” that can produce energy. A team of researchers at Notre Dame University says the paint may someday be applied to homes – which can turn your house into a massive solar-powered generator.

In a research project dubbed ‘Sun-Believable’, the scientists successfully uses semiconducting nanoparticles to produce energy from sunlight, a university release said Wednesday. “We want to do something transformative, and to move beyond current silicon-based solar technology,” chemistry Professor Prashant Kamat of the university’s Center for Nano Science and Technology said.

“So we incorporate power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, with that we made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment.” When the paint is brushed onto a conducting material and exposed to light, it creates electricity, the researchers said.

Solar paint – paint it on and it will harness electrical energy

The paint is made from tiny particles of titanium dioxide coated with one of two cadmium-based substances, mixed with a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste.

“However, such technologies are still in its infancy, the best light-to-energy conversion efficiency we’ve reached so far is 1 percent, which is well behind the usual 10 to 15 percent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells,” Kamat said. “But this paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future.”

Kamat’s team is now working on boosting efficiency and stability of the substance, at which point commercial viability could be within reach and ‘each house producing their own electricity’ might not be that far-fetched of a notion.

Nanoparticles known as Quantum Dots is incorporated into the paint

Solar paint has many advantages to other solar architecture. Solar panels for instance, are sophisticated, expensive and require a lot of time to deploy; but the paint can be cheaply and easily applied to basically any surface, like a house’s roof, and start preparing it to generate electricity.

Posted by Editor on January 2, 2012. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

30 Responses to SCIENTISTS Invent PAINT That Can PRODUCE ELECTRICITY

MASTER JERABO

January 2, 2012 at 10:25 am

OK THAT IS INTERESTING! I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE IN ZANBIA TO BUY THAT PAINT!
Kateon

January 2, 2012 at 10:36 am

Thats interesting bt it will tak tim for such a paint to reach zed
Chaoz33

January 2, 2012 at 10:36 am

Thats real gud Coz ZESCO people bali tumpa sana. Hope soon it’ll Flock down to Africa
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tuntatunta

January 2, 2012 at 11:09 am

mad scientist
Goodness

January 2, 2012 at 11:18 am

Thats a gud job thoz guyz r doin’,bt i gues it needs a lot of effot to improve en insure safety measures wen it coms on da scene.hop they achiev ther goalz by da year “3030.”
Info

January 2, 2012 at 11:25 am

Indeed its in infancy; 1% efficiency? i have tried to understand how it will conduct to the external circuit i.e load, it will require a special painting surface. By the way mono-crystalline silicon solar cells has an efficiency as high as 20% compare to the common poly-crystalline silicon solar cells which has 15%.
If it be stabilized and made to last long operational life on the painting surface then it would be a good substitute bcoz silicon solar cells are expensive to manufacture
boss lady

January 2, 2012 at 11:53 am

Twalya again ayelelelelelelele!
What?

January 2, 2012 at 12:05 pm

But I already have this type of paint at home!
uko

January 2, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Zambia needs to start spending money on research. Kwaliba we just wait for the west
first lady

January 2, 2012 at 1:15 pm

Bring it on!So called zescolo needs some competition.Ama rubbish yeka yeka!mwafwa ba kapoli,new technology is here.
Wizard

January 2, 2012 at 1:27 pm

This is what the world should be a better place to live on, I presume this took alot of thinking,job weldone
Ray

January 2, 2012 at 1:54 pm

Good one,bt all discoveries cannot make the world a better place 2 liv becoz we already hv the best place which in heaven.
C 5

January 2, 2012 at 4:23 pm

it should cm 2 zambia quickly bapusa bafikala load shading
Yes. We can

January 2, 2012 at 4:33 pm

And some fool blogged last year on Lusaka Times that there’s nothing more to invent so Africans
should just imitate! Inventions will never end
William Mulenga

January 2, 2012 at 5:26 pm

I will wait to see the side effects on the first users before buying that paint.
Ojuku

January 2, 2012 at 5:29 pm

Zed scientists should take keen interest in the discovery. Pliz do not just sit back waiting for complete products to come your way. Bravo original thinkers – scientists.
Pa Zed

January 2, 2012 at 6:51 pm

Do we have any scientists/researchers in zambia? i have never heard of any research done which impacts on the life of people in zambia, whether in agriculture (otherwise village agric would have improved), food processing, disease (both affecting people and animals), environment ( otherwise that garbage around could have been put to good use), etc
Dre

January 2, 2012 at 7:02 pm

Nw thts Music 2ma ears!
I salute u, Bravo fellow chemists
KAMWI

January 3, 2012 at 6:04 am

Zambian scientist are just good at forming political partys
chacu

January 3, 2012 at 9:09 am

That sounds good,i hope there no health risks involved.
ONE TIME

January 3, 2012 at 9:13 am

fwabufi ba tumfweko..muletoshinga bata
Analyst

January 3, 2012 at 9:47 am

I WILL — USE AFTER ZEDIANS HAVE — USED IT FOR A YEAR….LIMBI YALIKWATA AMA EFFECTS KU BANAKASHI….
Lelo

January 3, 2012 at 9:54 am

Now I need the paint that can kill mosquitoes and flies can someone from University of Zambia or Copperbelt University make this research. so that we forget about the nets and sprays
ba zambia

January 3, 2012 at 11:08 am

In the last days,amano yamuntu yakafula. watch out wit what the bible says. U may be excited, b watch and pray to the LORD OF LORDS GOD.
Gogo

January 3, 2012 at 3:52 pm

This is great. I look forward to the day this paint will be offloaded on our local market. It is the remedy we need especially with the daily loadsheding ZESCO is imposing on us.
joinmwa

January 4, 2012 at 11:39 am

mabombeni ba science zesco muchibe.
Ambarapu Fareedh

January 24, 2012 at 9:57 am

Its to have the paint that produes the electricity and all the best to all the scientists that have involved to this project.
Martins

June 13, 2012 at 11:02 am

Technology nimbwe manje why tivutita na malaiti? Solar paint has came!
lozifela

April 28, 2014 at 12:06 pm

teti ndabwe kibuhata fela