Mexican science & engineering students invent concrete that absorbs solar energy and generates electricity

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Orlando Gutiérrez and Kismet Sierra developed a photovoltaic concrete with the capacity to convert solar energy into electricity.

Students of the Advanced Technology PhD from the Azcapotzalco Technological Innovation and Research Center (CIITEC) of the National Polytechnic Institute, developed a concrete capable of generating energy through the irradiation of sunlight.

Its creators Orlando Gutiérrez Obeso and Euxis Kismet Sierra Márquez are designing a material that meets the structural criteria to be used in the construction of bridges, sidewalks, foundation slabs and other works.

According to the researchers, Mexico is in a privileged position in terms of solar radiation because it is located within the solar belt of the planet, thanks to which states such as Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, and Sonora receive more intense radiation for a longer period of time. solar much higher than the international average. 

This material will have the capacity to use electrical energy stored in a sustainable way so that appliances, architectural lighting, mobile devices load, among others, work. The model is made up of organic elements that capture solar radiation and generate electric current.

Concrete nanopowders are obtained through a technique called “high energy grinding” that tries to find particles smaller than 100 nanometers. Subsequently, the cement is mixed with other oxides and organic compounds (perovskite) to obtain electricity, explains one of the developers.

On the other hand, to create the perovskite synthesized the materials and joined them with titanium oxide that is used in the manufacture of Gratzel cells, using it as a matrix that absorbs solar energy that will be transformed into electricity.

Source: manufactura, entrepreneur,

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