Solar Power During Rain? It’s Possible, With A Graphene Layer

Chinese researchers might have found the solution to solar cells’ biggest problem: weather. A team of scientists from the Ocean University of China and  Yunnan Normal University made an all-weather solar cell using graphene #todaymagic

In order to produce electricity from raindrops too, not just sun rays, the researchers coated a solar cells with a super thin film of graphene. Its unusual electronic properties inspired scientists to put rain, meaning water and salts (that dissociate into positive and negative ions), in contact with the material knowing the positively charged ions can bend with it.

As they explain in their paper,  at this point of contact “graphene becomes enriched in delocalized electrons. This results in a double-layer made of electrons and positively charged ions, a feature known as a pseudocapacitor. The difference in potential associated with this phenomenon is sufficient to produce a voltage and current”.

Amazing, right?