In experiments with graphene in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), researchers have studied the properties of this material as generating electricity from sunlight. They used a combination of graphene layers, and molybdenum disulfide, able to create a solar panel with efficiency from 1% to 2%. This is about 10 times smaller than can be obtained using a conventional silicon-based (efficiency from 15% to 20%). In other words, to get the same amount of electricity as the usual panel with graphene should take 10 times larger area. But here the thickness of the graphene panel exceeds one (1) nanometer in hundreds of thousands of times lighter and thinner battery of silicon.
For certain applications of solar panels weight is crucial. First of all, in terms of space and aviation. In the first case - the price of the placing into orbit in the second - the possibility of long autonomous flight by electric motors. And in the land assembly of thin and light panels in most cases, can significantly reduce the cost (it is believed that the installation eats up to 60% of the cost of installing solar panels). Actually, it is possible to save on manufacturing costs, including - on the material (on the purified silicon).
A small panel efficiency of graphene does not allow to consider them as solutions for mobile electronics. The researchers note that they only started to experiment in this area. Perhaps there is a combination of materials with graphene, which will significantly increase the efficiency .