As our space-presence grows, we need to scale up our power-generation, and in space ~1 AU that's best done with solar. Problem: solar-cells are bulky for the energy they deliver. The Starship could probably take what cells are used in space but the Starship isn't flying yet. We could use solar-powered cells as can be folded up (like the shield in the JWST) and deployed on a Falcon 9.
Zekun Hu, Da Lin, Jason Lynch, Kevin Xu, and Deep Jariwala via Cell Press are talking solar-cell minimisation.
As I dig into Hu's arXiv, one idea is organic polymers, currently at 19% powerconversion efficiency and "approaching maturity". Hu is more talking two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides
. These - the paper claims - could get to 9.22%. That might not be awesome but it's lightweight and flexible, so can be delivered into space in volume.
As generation-per-mass goes: they claim over 100 W/g ("157 W g-1" in the lab). I don't know how that depends on incident flux aka, how hard they're shining the light. At Venus that should be, what: 191 W/g and in its atmo we can slap it on our manta. Or, over Earth (or on polar Luna): just shine mirrors at it (bro) - like the MAPL-Experiment.
They did have a challenge manufacturing this stuff at-scale. Maybe they should manufacture it in space?
BACKDATE 6/7
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