Solar power goes viral (literally!)

URL

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=21134.php

Description

In a solar cell, sunlight hits a light-harvesting material, causing it to release electrons that can be harnessed to produce an electric current. The new MIT research, published online this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (Virus-templated self-assembled single-walled carbon nanotubes for highly efficient electron collection in photovoltaic devices), is based on findings that carbon nanotubes — microscopic, hollow cylinders of pure carbon — can enhance the efficiency of electron collection from a solar cell's surface.