Use of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) in Third-Generation Solar Cells

In the future, energy production will have to be cheap, readily accessible and deployable in a vast array of locations and circumstances, while minimizing any influence on the greenhouse effect on climate. Of all the options available, photovoltaics offer the highest probability of delivering a meaningful and sustainable change in the way society produces its energy. Third-generation photovoltaics offer real opportunities to deliver energy to broad sections of society, which will ultimately provide energy security. This technology offers opportunities for cheap production, flexibility (and hence a range of deployment opportunities) and tunability of light absorption. Many efforts to improve these photovoltaic systems have involved the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). This chapter will primarily focus on those efforts. Carbon nanotubes have been used in virtually every component of the devices to help charge conduction, improve electrode flexibility, and, in some cases, as active light-absorbing materials.