SOLAR cells and flexible displays in the future could owe their underlying substrate technology to the humble crab, following work by Kyoto University researchers.
The scientists, Muhammad Iftekhar Shams and his team, took an entire (dead) crab, and treated with hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide and ethanol. This treatment stripped the body of minerals, proteins, lipids, fats and pigments.
The chitin crab shell was then immersed in an acrylic resin monomer. This caused a polymerisation reaction which rendered the shell completely see-through.
In a second experiment, the team crushed up chitin from crab shells and spread the powder into a nanocomposite sheet. The acrylic resin monomer treatment was applied, and the material became a transparent panel.
The material does not expand or lose its stability when heated. It also has a high light transmittance. It is ten times as resistant to heat as traditional materials, making it a very viable potential material for building bendable screens or solar cells that are moulded into shapes.
Solar cells and screens derived from crabs? Electronics News
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