The key to more efficient solar panels would be in the wings of the butterflies

Solar energy is currently one of the best ways to obtain 100% clean electricity. The cost of these panels does not stop reducing year after year, fueled by its high demand especially in countries like China. Therefore, new methods to increase the efficiency of solar panels are being investigated.

Nature hides better solutions than those created by humans

This efficiency currently stands at 44.5% in the best of cases under the laboratory, and using various chemical materials arranged in layers to capture different light waves. Now, a group of scientists has discovered another method based on the wings of the black butterfly to double the efficiency of current commercial panels.

solar-panel-butterflyThe current panels are made of solar cells arranged at a certain angle to get as much light as possible. However, replicating the structure of the wings of the butterfly, scientists have managed to absorb light regardless of the angle from which it is received, and they are also easier to manufacture than the current ones.

This butterfly is native to Southeast Asia. Its blood is cold, and it needs sunlight to fly, hence it is black and the structure of its wings are designed to absorb as much energy as possible. This same structure of millions of years of evolution is much more efficient than what scientists had managed to design until now, showing that in many occasions it is easier to take a look at nature to get ideas.

A similar structure with the same physical properties allowed to create more efficient solar panels

Observed through an electron microscope and later translated into a 3D model, the wings of the black butterflies are made of small scales covered with random holes in size, distribution and shape. These holes have a diameter of 500 nanometers, and they dissipate the light very well to allow the butterfly to absorb heat. The position and order of these holes is important to absorb light while the shape is not that important.

Thus, the team made a design with the same physical properties as the wings of the butterfly, but with some modifications, and could verify that the efficiency is the same. Also, the manufacturing process is quite simple and they would not have problems to scale it. In fact, it only took 10 minutes to make the plates.

The current solar panels work arranged at a certain angle, which makes their efficiency is maximum only for a few hours. With this design, however, a better performance is achieved throughout the day and without needing to be so precise when it comes to arranging the angle of the plate.