A solar cell you could make on the moon
As part of a project headed by the European Space Agency investigating materials for long-term missions, scientists in Estonia are investigating a tiny iron-based crystal as a potential solar cell material. So far, the material has not achieved the sort of efficiency that would spark a lot of interest. These researchers, however, are interested in it for a different reason: Beyond planet Earth, the material is abundant enough that it could eventually be manufactured on the Moon or even Mars.
A long way to go for iron pyrite solar cells
A paper from Sweden has attempted to uncover why the conversion efficiency of solar cells based on cheap, abundant iron pyrites continues to languish below 3% despite the apparent optoelectronic promise of the material.
