Researchers propose efficient solar cells inspired by Cabbage White butterfly

A team of researchers have suggested efficient and cheaper solar cells inspired by Cabbage White butterflies.

According to the team of experts from the University of Exeter the butterflies adopt a v-shaped posture to heat up their flight muscles before take-off, and if similar technique is used for solar panels then the amount of power produced by the panels can be increased by 50%.

The researchers highlighted that by replicating the ‘wing-like’ structure, the power-to-weight ratio of the overall solar energy structure can be increased 17-fold, which would make it more efficient.

Cabbage White butterflies are capable of taking flight before other butterflies on cloudy days which reflects that it can efficiently use the energy from the sun to heat its flight muscles.

According to the researchers, the ability to do so is due to the v-shaped posturing, known as reflectance basking, which helps in concentrating maximum amount of solar energy on their thorax.

The team found that by imitating the simple mono-layer of scale cells found in the butterfly wings, solar energy producers, panel makers could improve the power-to-weight rations of future solar concentrators, which is also likely to making them lighter and more efficient.

Research lead Professor Tapas Mallick said: "Biomimicry in engineering is not new. However, this truly multidisciplinary research shows pathways to develop low cost solar power that have not been done before."

University of Exeter Professor Richard ffrench-Constant added: "This proves that the lowly Cabbage White is not just a pest of your cabbages but actually an insect that is an expert at harvesting solar energy."

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Image: The Cabbage White butterflies are known to take flight before other butterflies on cloudy days. Photo: courtesy of Shutterstock/ University of Exeter.