Photoelectrochemical water splitting uses solar power to decompose water to hydrogen and oxygen. Here we show how the photocatalytic activity of thylakoid membranes leads to overall water splitting in a bio-photo-electro-chemical (BPEC) cell via a simple process. Thylakoids extracted from spinach are introduced into a BPEC cell containing buffer solution with ferricyanide. Upon solar-simulated ...

A combination of 3-dimensional (3D) hollow mesoporous ZnO microspheres (ZnO HMSP) and vertically grown one-dimensional ZnO nanowires (1D ZnO NWs) on a fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate has been investigated as a photoanode for a CdS quantum dot-sensitized solar cell (QSSC). A comparative study of the photovoltaic performance of the solar cell with devices fabricated with pri...

A photovoltaic array simulator is designed based on a Buck DC converter with a fuzzy PID control algorithm to account for current feedback. The conventional PID controller cannot self-tune the parameters, therefore the new algorithm uses a fuzzy controller to solve the problem. The difference between the reference current and the real-time feedback current of the Buck converter and its rate of ...

In this paper utilization of a buck-boost converter for control of photovoltaic power using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control mechanism is presented. First the photovoltaic module is analyzed using MATLAB. For the main aim of the project is the buck -boost converter is to be used along with a Maximum Power Point Tracking control mechanism. The MPPT is responsible for extracting the ma...

The Sun provides approximately 100,000 terawatts to the Earth which is about 10000 times more than the present rate of the world's present energy consumption. Photovoltaic cells are being increasingly used to tap into this huge resource and will play a key role in future sustainable energy systems. So far, solid-state junction devices, usually made of silicon, crystalline or amorphous, and prof...

Organic photovoltaic cell (OPV) has emerged as a new competitor to inorganic material-based solar cells, due to its potential application in large area, printable, and flexible solar panels. In particular, OPV cells with bulk heterojunction architecture (BHJ), in which the photoactive layer consists of a bicontinuous blend of an electron donor and an electron acceptor, has allowed power convers...