Nanodiamond coatings for solar cells

1. A method of improving the efficiency of a solar cell, comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a liquid polymer to form a nanodiamond-polymer suspension, wherein the liquid polymer is polyvinylidene fluoride;

applying the suspension on a top surface of a solar cell to form a coating thereon; and

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the top surface of the solar cell.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material consisting essentially of nanodiamond comprises particles having a size in the range from about 5 nm to about 7 nm.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the suspension includes less than or equal to about 0.1% w/w of the material consisting essentially of nanodiamond.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming a coating includes:

screen printing the suspension on the top surface of the solar cell.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the top surface is glass.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a non-polymer solvent to form a second suspension;

applying the second suspension on a top surface of a photovoltaic material within the solar cell to form a coating thereon;

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the photovoltaic material.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the second suspension includes less than or equal to about 0.1% w/w of the material consisting essentially of nanodiamond.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the non-polymer solvent is dimethyl sulfoxide.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the nanodiamond-polymer layer has a thickness less than or equal to about 0.1 micron.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the top surface is glass.

11. A method of improving the efficiency of a solar cell, comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a liquid polymer to form a nanodiamond-polymer suspension;

applying the suspension on a top surface of a solar cell to form a coating thereon; and

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the top surface of the solar cell;

wherein the nanodiamond-polymer layer has a thickness less than or equal to about 25 microns.

12. A method for improving the efficiency of a solar cell, comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a non-polymer solvent to form a suspension;

applying the suspension on a top surface of a photovoltaic material within the solar cell to form a coating thereon;

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond layer remains bonded to the photovoltaic material;

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a polymer solvent to form a nanodiamond-polymer suspension;

forming a coating of the nanodiamond-polymer suspension on the top surface; and

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the solar cell.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the suspension includes less than or equal to about 0.1% w/w of the nanodiamond material, and wherein the non-polymer solvent is dimethyl sulfoxide.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the nanodiamond layer has a thickness less than or equal to about 0.1 micron.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the nanodiamond-polymer suspension includes less than or equal to about 0.1% w/w of the nanodiamond material.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the nanodiamond-polymer layer has a thickness less than or equal to about 100 microns.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the top surface is glass.

18. A method of improving the efficiency of a solar cell, comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a liquid polyvinylidene fluoride polymer to form a nanodiamond-polymer suspension;

applying the suspension on a top surface of a solar cell to form a coating thereon; and

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the top surface of the solar cell.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the nanodiamond-polymer layer has a thickness less than or equal to about 25 microns.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a non-polymer solvent to form a second suspension;

applying the second suspension on a top surface of a photovoltaic material within the solar cell to form a coating thereon;

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the photovoltaic material.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the second suspension includes less than or equal to about 0.1% w/w of the material consisting essentially of nanodiamond.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the non-polymer solvent is dimethyl sulfoxide.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the top surface is glass.

24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the top surface is glass.

25. A method for improving the efficiency of a solar cell, comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a non-polymer dimethyl sulfoxide solvent to form a suspension including less than or equal to about 0.1% w/w of the nanodiamond material;

applying the suspension on a top surface of a photovoltaic material within the solar cell to form a coating thereon; and

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond layer remains bonded to the photovoltaic material.

26. The method of claim 25 , further comprising:

mixing a material consisting essentially of nanodiamond with a non-polymer solvent to form a nanodiamond-polymer suspension;

forming a coating of the nanodiamond-polymer suspension on a top surface of a solar cell;

drying the coating such that a dried nanodiamond-polymer layer remains bonded to the solar cell.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the top surface is glass.

28. The method of claim 25 , wherein the top surface is glass.