Get more power from the Sun and save the planet!Last Modified:15/03/2011 Mysteries down the nano-valley of silicon...
Photovoltaic (PV) cells are usually made out of silicon. This material reacts when exposed to light and its behaviour is different depending on its size. To produce silicon nanoparticles we should change the arrangement of the element’s atoms, meaning its molecular structure, while the number of atoms remains the same. The properties of the same material can be altered without affecting the quality of the silicon atoms. In other words, silicon nanoparticles correspond to different materials than bulk silicon, although they are still composed of silicon atoms. Moreover, the properties of silicon materials can be adjusted by varying the size of their nanoparticles. Small may be convenient, but nano is different.
