Received: 19 July 2018 Revised: 6 September 2018 Accepted: 17 September 2018

DOI: 10.1002/er.4255

REVIEW PAPER

A comprehensive review on bioinspired solar photovoltaic

cells

Ramalingam Senthil | Srinivasan Yuvaraj

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

SRM Institute of Science and Technology,
Chennai, India
Correspondence
Ramalingam Senthil, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, SRM Institute of
Science and Technology, Kattankulathur,
Chennai, India.
Email: rsenthilsrm@gmail.com
Summary
Researchers have derived inspiration from the biophotosynthetic structures in
nature and have started to synthesize the modified bioinspired solar cells copy-
ing the evolved organic and inorganic material properties. One of the
highlighted examples of bioinspired photo voltaic (PV) cells is the astonishing
achievement of an increase in the absorption of integrated sunlight waves in
unpatterned solar cells simulated from the wings of the butterfly. Further,
deployment possibilities of incorporating flexible cells on flat or curved sur-
faces for optimizing performance are also under progress. This article mainly
discusses the recent concepts of bioinspired solar cells at the research and
development level with the prospects and challenges that lie ahead in the
upcoming field of photovoltaic renewable energy cell technology. Different
potential materials found suitable for bioinspired solar cells construction are
reviewed with their particular challenges.

KEYWORDS
bioinspired cells, flexible cells, organic and inorganic materials, photovoltaic

1 | INTRODUCTION adapted from nature. Numerous research teams have

“Bioinspired” is a newly emerging term in science that
denotes the study of structures and utilizing them for var-
ious applications, which are inspired from the biological
organisms found in nature. In recent years, research in
bioinspired solar photovoltaic cells has focused on recov-
ering a broad spectrum of sun light to obtain maximum
conversion into electric power at the fabrication stage
itself, also combining the advancements in the field of
nanotechnology. Many new sustainable engineering solu-
tions to human problems such as clean energy recovery
in an environment‐friendly manner is successfully
Abbreviations: BCL, Bioinspired compound lenses; BISC, Bioinspired
solar cells; DSSC, Dye‐sensitized solar cells; LV, Leaf ventilation; MRS,
Modular robotic system; PCE, Power conversion efficiency; PV, Photo
voltaic; SEM, Scanning electron microscope; SPS, solar power satellite;
WCA, Water contact angle
turned to nature and natural processes for improvements
in various technologies and to make an artificial creation
function just as adeptly as a living organism.1 The first
cyanobacteria on the earth was discovered over 3.8 billion
years ago.2 The photosynthesis energy conversion process
from sunlight by plants and insects to generate their food
from CO2 and water/H2O is a strong motivating factor for
many new generation researchers to use this sophisti-
cated technique as a benchmark to design and develop
new‐age solutions. Using photosynthesis energy recovery
as a basic blueprint, researchers have successfully laid an
initial bridge for the development of man‐made
bioinspired mechanisms for light trapping and its conver-
sion to electrical energy through PV cells. However, pho-
tosynthetic biological living materials have complex
structures for optimized recoveries, developed through
natural selection, drawing inspiration from nature's
improvisations, researchers have attempted to use

Int J Energy Res. 2018;1–14. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/er © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1
2 SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ
different materials of construction to reduce carbon foot-
prints during the manufacturing of PV cells.
Two major concerns of the fossil fuel‐based industrial-
ized countries are the inevitable environmental pollution
and noxious greenhouse gas emissions responsible for the
alarming repercussions of global warming and unprece-
dented rate of climate change. In this context, the impor-
tance of sustainable practices such as renewable
photovoltaic developments cannot be stressed enough.3
Compound lenses in the eyes of some insects produce
an image that is far more detailed than what humans
can see, its hexagonal shape of packed papillae‐like
ommatidia, which contain internal photoreceptors and
effectively decrease optical reflectance.4-6 The field of
nanotechnology along with other recent technologies
has helped in the fabrication of high absorption and
antireflecting surfaced PV cells of polished silicon in pho-
tovoltaic modules, to restrict the reflection rate of sun-
light7 within 35%.
Photo‐curing process is the formation of a thermoset
network of polymers, which affects 90% transmittance and
5% to 8% of low reflection with an antireflection efficiency
of 4% to 7% compared with the flat bank coating. The effec-
tive use of this antireflection coatings with added wrinkles
pattern, which encloses the thin film solar cells will result
in significant photovoltaic performance improvement of
4% to 8%. Also, the wrinkle pattern is used to ensure the
reduction of light reflection in the photoactive layer optical
paths. By achieving oblique light incident angle with a ver-
tical light incident angle, the productivity of the solar cells,
which are well defined for all weather conditions, showed
an excellent increase8 of 8.5%. Dye‐sensitized solar cells
(DSSC) are devices that convert solar energy into electrical
energy based on a large band gap nanocrystalline semicon-
ductor sensitized by a dye.9,10 Several organisms have been
taken for references, their structures and compositions have
been well researched for modeling polymers and organic
materials to mimic them. The main objective of this article
is to provide a comprehensive review on various techniques
and methodologies inspired from biotic components and
the relevant approaches in the field of solar PV energy
technology.
2 | B I OINSPIR ED S OLAR C ELLS
Nature is an unending fount of inspiration to science and
human innovation in many aspects, particularly new and
improved approaches to the development of products and
technologies by emulating solutions provided by the nat-
ural world. Much of today's modern sustainability is
inspired by the living world, which continues to motivate
researchers to deduce potential technical applications. A
few of the recent techniques that have been successfully
adopted are classified in Figure 1. The broad classification
comprises bioinspired dyes, organisms, and structures.
Organisms with the ability to capture or enhance the
optical properties are most sought‐after in the design of
solar photovoltaic cells. Both nonliving and living mate-
rial structures have given a major boost to the field of
bioinspired solar cells (BISC).
2.1 | Dyes
Conventional solar cells are progressively being replaced
by the alternative concept of DSSC; there is continuous
FIGURE 1 Bioinspirations
SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ
ongoing research to identify the optimally efficient mate-
rials for synthesizing of DSSC. 9,11-15 In the last couple of
years, this cost‐effective enhancement to conventional
solar cells has received a lot of attention, and significant
efforts have been made to attain higher efficiencies with
DSSC. Photoanode is an essential component of DSSC,
involving photon absorption for recombination and elec-
tron transport.
The modification of the anodes has a remarkable
impact on the efficiency of DSSC because the operations
performed by photoanodes are more than that of dye
and electrolyte. TiO2 and ZnO are observed as encourag-
ing particles for photoanodes. Figure 2 shows the sche-
matic structure and working principle of DSSC. The
best performance of a photoanode depends on the surface
area of the nanoparticles, and also on the absorption of
the dye. The loss of energy after recombination can be
recovered by the semiconductor oxide interface. More-
over, the light scattering at the surface can increase the
photo conversion efficiency of the DSSC. The covalent
bond of semiconductor oxide is moved at an optimum
temperature to a position such that the photo excited
electrons can be injected efficiently from lowest unoccu-
pied molecular orbit of the dye to the covalent bond of
semiconductor oxide. However, the most suitable dopants
for both TiO2 and ZnO photo anodes have not been iden-
tified so far.16 These materials are inspired by nature for
the production of dye‐based solar cells. Table 1 shows
the different photoanodes with their corresponding
efficiency.
Dyes are extensively available in various forms; a
proper selection and extraction are to be carried for the
preparation of natural organic dyes. It is assumed that
fruits extracts, which have dark colors in them can be
used for dye preparation. These dyes replace the usual
dyes in the fabrication of DSSC and set to have some
higher efficiency.
FIGURE 2 Schematic structure and working of DSSC12
3
2.2 | Wettability and superhydrophobic
dyes
Dye application methods are also used to achieve the nec-
essary properties of super wettability and
superhydrophobicity. Water contact angle (WCA) is used
for the characterization of the surface wettability.29
Superhydrophobic surface provides WCA greater than
150°. These water droplets are allowed to remove the
dust, viruses, and bacteria during its contact with the sur-
face.30-32 Faraz et al33 described the fabrication of the
superhydrophobic dye and transparent Mn/
ZnO@polystyrene thin films during the casting of homo-
geneous Mn/ZnO nanorods and polystyrene. The
obtained particles were homogeneous and had optical
spectra of range 350 to 600 nm; the band gaps of 1%
Mn/ZnO, and 2% Mn/ZnO nanorods were obtained as
3.27, 3.42, and 3.44 eV. Moreover, the WCA for the
ZnO@PS and Mn/ZnO@PS was found to be 107° and
151°, respectively.
2.3 | Organisms
2.3.1 | Leaf
Numerous living organisms with nature‐endowed special
photosynthesis abilities have proved to be the inspiration
behind the many developments exhibited in the field of
solar PV modules. As the well‐proven technology, leaf
structure has been an inspiration for the preparation of
a flexible bioinspired Zn0.5Cd@PAN photocatalyst,
which exhibits high photocatalytic H2‐production activ-
ity. Molecular diffusion or transfer kinetics is enhanced
by a hierarchically porous structure. The porous chloro-
phyll structure of the leaf facilitates the production of
hydrogen. Light utilization efficiency is promoted by mul-
tiple reflections and scattering effects. The integrity and
flexibility of the resulting photocatalyst ensure its separa-
tion and reuse.34 A flexible bioinspired ZCS@PAN‐Mat
photocatalyst was developed with a generation rate of
about 475 micromoles h‐1 per 50 mg of ZCS@PAN‐Mat,
and an apparent Quantum Efficiency of 27.4% at
420 nm. Flexible bioinspired Zn0.5Cd0.5S@PAN
photocatalyst is illustrated in Figure 3. H2 generation for
the evolution rate of ZCS‐NP, CS‐NP, ZS‐NP,
ZCS@PAN‐Mat, CS@PAN‐Mat, and ZS@PAN‐Mat under
visible light irradiation are shown in Figure 4.
The structure morphology of a leaf can be modified
into a hierarchical dorsal spine by variations in the
reacting ambience. These modifications are done to coun-
ter the effect of time and voltage on morphological con-
trol of Ag2S structures to determine the time and
voltage influence on optical parameters. At permissible
4 SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ

TABLE 1 Various dye (ZnO) structures with their efficiency

ZnO Nanostructure Photoanode Efficiency (%)

Nanorods Nanorod arrays17 0.22

18
Nanorods Hierarchical structure of ZnO nanorods with nanoparticles 4.13
Nanorods Nanorod arrays19 0.84
20
Nanowires Nanoforest of hierarchical ZnO nanowires 2.63
21
Nanowires 3D multilayered ZnO nanowire arrays 5.20
22
Nanowires ZnO nanowires 1.62
23
Nanosheets Hierarchical ZnO nanowire nanosheet structure 4.80
24
Nanosheets ZnO nanosheets 6.06
25
Nanosheets ZnO nanosheets 1.82
26
Nanotubes ZnO nanotube arrays 0.93
27
Nanoflowers ZnO nanoflowers 1.38
Nanoflowers 3D ZnO nanoflowers28 5.12

FIGURE 3 Flexible bioinspired

Zn0.5Cd0.5S@PAN photocatalyst34
[Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

conditions of (1 V, 10 hr, 75° and 1 atm), the structures

FIGURE 4 H2 generation for the evolution rate of ZCS‐NP (i),
CS‐NP (ii), ZS‐NP (iii), ZCS@PAN‐mat (iv), CS@PAN‐mat (v)
ZS@PAN‐mat (vi) under visible light irradiation34 (λ > 420 nm)
[Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
exhibit promissory optical properties for solar cells35 as
shown in Figure 5.
Han et al36 enhanced mechanical strength and flexi-
bility by implementing grids of micro and nanowires by
the application of natural scaffoldings perfected by evolu-
tion. Two bioinspired networks were described for two
specific optoelectronic applications. Initially, they
described the first network by the metallization of leaf
venation (LV) present in all leaves. This natural optimiza-
tion process resulted in a quasi‐fractal (or hierarchical)
structure of LV.37 The second network has its application
in various fields, and it is observed to be like a spider's
web. The former network is used in the solar cell synthe-
sis and was chosen from the plant magnolia alba (white
jade orchid tree). The leaf structure of this plant is as
shown in Figures 6 and 7. An angular network was
formed from this secondary vein.38
SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ
FIGURE 5 Time and voltage effects on the morphology synthesized at 75° and 1 atm and growth of secondary particles35
FIGURE 6 Replication of vein over solar cell36 [Colour figure
can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
2.3.2 | Lotus
Another recent trend has effectively replicated the
superhydrophobic and dirt‐resistant properties exhibited
by the unique structure of lotus leaves in the self‐cleaning
and antireflective surface of solar cells. The reflection rate
of silicon is about 35% for a polished surface whereas the
FIGURE 7 An ink print of the leaf (left) and photolithography of the LV network (right)36
5
mimicked surface induced only 20% of reflectivity, gradu-
ally showing 10% increase in overall power generation
from such kind of cell, as discussed by Huang et al.39
Figure 8 illustrates the bioinspired leaf pattern with its
corresponding reflectance plot. This lotus‐inspired
bioinnovation has helped to develop solar cells with
self‐cleaning ability to reduce the manpower require-
ments at the site of large power plants.
2.3.3 | Common rose butterfly
The microscopic structure of the gossamer deep‐black
wings of the rose butterfly has inspired researchers seek-
ing the synthesis of new types of solar cells. They have
successfully designed more efficient thin film solar cells.
Such cells are used to enhance their light absorption rate
over the complete spectrum at variable angles of
6 SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ

FIGURE 8 Bioinspired leaf pattern and its corresponding plot for reflectance39

incidence. This condition is favorable for lower cost pho- 2.3.4 | Firefly
tovoltaic installations and their potential applications.
The firefly algorithm based on the flashing pattern and
The wings of the butterfly have inspired the synthesis
behavior of a swarm of fireflies can be used to identify
of solar cells. The inspiration led to the development of
similar solar cell operating parameters. This algorithm
four geometrics: (a) an unpatterned slab structure, (b)
was used to extract the electrical intrinsic parameters of
ordered and periodically arranged holes with one diame-
photovoltaic arrangement (photowatt‐PWP 201) having
ter, (c) a perturbed structure, and (d) a correlated struc-
36 cells that were connected in series2,41 at 45°C and
ture. The fill factor was set to 50.26%, and the ordered
1000 W/m. Especially at low irradiance; such modules
structure had a hole with a diameter of 240 nm and a
help to bring out the optimal parameters for changing
period of 300 nm. The 2D Fourier power spectra of the
temperature. Several other computational algorithms
corresponding structures shown by the insects were
have also been developed from the natural performance
inspected and subsequently, the research was carried
parameters gathered from the observed unique behavior
out for adopting such parameters for fabrication of solar
of animals, insects, vermin, and features of microorgan-
photovoltaic cells. Figure 9 shows the replication of but-
isms. Bioinspired algorithms developed so far are (a)
terfly wing scales in synthetic polymers to produce the
genetic algorithm, (b) differential evolution, (c) particle
photovoltaic effect. Thus, the absorption of the incident
swarm optimization, (d) bacteria foraging algorithm, (e)
radiation has been successfully enhanced by mimicking
artificial bee colony, (f) cuckoo search, and (g) bat algo-
the structure of the wings of the rose butterfly. The
rithm. Ma et al observed that particle swarm algorithm
absorption increased to +200% when the angle of inci-
appeared to be the most efficient when compared with
dence was maintained at 50° for such newly designed
other algorithms.42 Natural pigments for efficient solar
cells.40

FIGURE 9 Replication of butterfly wing scales in synthetic polymers40 [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ
energy conversion were evaluated, and efforts were made
to entrap the molecules in polyacrylamide hydrogel for
increasing the power conversion efficiency (PCE). An
average photocurrent density of approximately 109 μA/
cm2 with Voc of approximately 1.162 V and PCE of
approximately 0.59% was produced by the light‐induced
I‐V measurements of the swollen induced hybrids, as
observed by Mandal et al.43
2.3.5 | Human eye
In their quest for new, better, and cheaper ways to improve
solar cell efficiency, researchers found that tiny structures
inside the retina of the human eye contain funnel‐like
inverted cones, packed very close to each other, and capa-
ble of capturing very high amounts of light. The light fun-
nel array mechanism through 3D model, scanning
electron microscope (SEM) image of Si light funnel array,
and patterned inverted cone image are shown in Figure 10.
This ability of our eyes galvanized researchers into taking
the underlying mechanism and adapting the concept to
silicon solar cells to make them better at collecting light
thereby boosting solar cell efficiency.
The human eye plays an indispensable role in the
field of light image trapping, which is achieved by the
FIGURE 10 The light funnel array: A, a 3D model of the light funnel array B, scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of Si light funnel
array C, patterned frustum inverted cone image of the light funnel array. Scale bar is 1 mm44 [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
7
property of fovea centralis in the retina of the eye, a part
of the human eye that is responsible for sharp central
vision. This concept was studied, and the vertical arrays
of the fovea centralis were replaced by silicon arrays in
the form of a funnel that resulted in increased light
absorption by around 65% in a thin film solar cell, com-
pared with a conventional silicon film of same thickness
and 60% higher PCE than nanowire arrays whose absorp-
tion was about 2.3 times higher than the silicon mate-
rials.44 Solar cells with higher power conversion factors
have been developed recently through such methods.
2.3.6 | Beetle
Hoplia coerulea (Coleoptera) is a species of scarabaeid
beetle that has a natural photonic structure with fluores-
cent molecules embedded within the multilayered struc-
ture of their scales. These molecules can enhance the
light absorption with their respective wavelengths. Draw-
ing inspiration from this insect, synthesis was done for
such fluorescent molecules formation. Certain properties
like the position of the planar emitting source, layer thick-
ness, and the dielectric constant of materials can be
enhanced by implementing them in the solar cell fabrica-
tion. Simulation of the emission properties of a planar
8 SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ
emission source, which is embedded in a multilayer sys-
tem is allowed by a one‐dimensional transfer‐matrix for-
malism and has been carried out by Van Hooijdonk et al.45
2.3.7 | Dipteran
In early 2013, drawing inspiration from the compound eye
of the dipteran to improve existing solar cell technologies.
Chiadini et al46 proposed the production of silicon solar
cells by bioinspired compound lenses (BCL) for perfor-
mance improvement. The scalloped structured of the
insect's eye can capture the light in all range of directions;
the common housefly is capable of almost around 270°
vision. Mimicking this, a bioinspired compound lens was
made along with fractal scalloping that could capture light
in a range of 400‐nm to 1100‐nm wavelength and was suit-
able for both direct illuminations and diffused‐light condi-
tions. The various outcomes of this techniques are (a) light
coupling through multiple reflections on the first inci-
dence of light over the textured BCL, (b) most favorable
light incidence conditions whatever be the direction of
incident light, the transmission through the silicon is
made easier, and (c) improving the surface with layers of
antireflection coating like double‐layer antireflection coat-
ing that performs best with the BCL layer.46 Figures 11 and
12 show the first and second stage BCL, respectively.
2.3.8 | Crab
In the middle of 2011, the crab shell inspired researchers
to propose a transparent layer using monomer and
FIGURE 11 The schematic diagram of the first stage BCL46
FIGURE 12 Schematic diagram of the second stage BCL46
polymers. The inorganic protein particles, minerals, fats,
calcium carbonate, lipids, and pigments of the crusta-
ceans were first removed using acids and chemicals. This
resulted in a crab shell made entirely of translucent chi-
tin, which was then immersed in an acrylic resin mono-
mer. Following polymerization, an entirely transparent
crab shell was obtained. Heterogeneous microscale crab
shell chitin particles were used as transparent nanocom-
posites, which increased the transparency as well as
reduced the thermal expansion of the polymer. The
SEM images of the crab shell after removal of matrix par-
ticles in micro and nanoscale are shown in Figure 13.
Figure 14 shows the images of actual crab shell after
removal of matrix substances and transparent crab shell
after chitin resin process. The axial thermal expansion
of chitin 48 was found to be only 21 ppm K−1. The techni-
cally inspired reinforcement of a transparent polymer
with a refractive index of 0.3‐mm chitin powdered parti-
cles was carried out. Obtained transparency of the nano-
composites was stable over a wide range of
temperatures with variations in its refractive index.47 This
provided a gateway for the use of nanocomposites in solar
and optical appliances.
2.4 | Structures
2.4.1 | The solar power satellite
The solar power satellite (SPS) orbiting in space works
with optimal solar power utilization and has also derived
inspiration from nature for its self‐repairing process.
Modular robotic system (MRS) is used for constructing
these large SPS modules. As these satellites orbit in space,
which is inhospitable to human survival, the self‐
repairing feature is vital to support these technologies.
The MRS was built with identical basic modules inspired
from a honeycomb's structure on an improved design of
M‐lattice. Each module was taken as an endocrine cell
in this self‐repairing approach model. The digital hor-
mone model provided every module with an evaluating
value to direct the locomotion in the self‐repairing pro-
cess, as noted by Zhen Yang et al.49 Figure 15 shows the
mechanical arm of the SPS with the degrees of freedom
and the major components.
2.4.2 | Ruthenium
The ruthenium (II)–polypyridyl family is a unique class
of coordination complexes capable of reversibly forming
a long‐living redox active species upon visible light irradi-
ation.50 Addition of aphenol‐imidazole redox unit to a
reaction solution containing RuII–polypyridyl
photocatalyst, increase splitting of water and thereby a
SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ 9

FIGURE 13 SEM images of a shell after the removal of matrix particles in micro and nanoscale47

FIGURE 14 A, a crab shell, B, after removing matrix substances, and C, transparent crab shell after chitin resin process47 [Colour figure
can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

FIGURE 15 The mechanical arm of the SPS with the degrees of freedom (DOF)49 [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

proligand is synthesized. It contains a phenanthroline
chelating unit, also referred to as PhenLH. The new
complexes, Ru (PhenLH)2Cl2 (Ru‐1) and [Ru
(PhenLH)3]2 + Cl2 (Ru‐2), have two and three PhenLH
ligands, which are synthesized and shown in Figure 16.
The new complexes are found to have a long‐lived trip-
let state of 200 to 300 nanoseconds while measuring the
transient absorption and fluorescence lifetime. These insol-
uble substances show solvatochromic absorption symmetry
between them and yield better photocatalytic water split-
ting abilities. These new complexes can form radical
because of three phenol groups. These complexes possess
photophysical properties and also form metal–organic
frameworks thereby finding application in various fields.53
10
FIGURE 16 A, Ru (PhenLH)2Cl2 (Ru‐1), B, [Ru
(PhenLH)3]2 + Cl2 (Ru‐2), and C, two phenLh ligand51,52 [Colour
figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
2.4.3 | Origami
The fields of nanosatellites and picosatellites receive a lot
of importance because of their compact size and low
energy consumption. In a solar tracking system, while
optimizing the generation of solar electrical energy, small
satellites keep the required altitude. In normal tracking,
one‐axis and two‐axis tracking cause deviation in the alti-
tude of the satellites. To overcome this deviation and
ensure maximum tracking, an origami‐inspired satellite
called NPU‐PhoneSat was envisaged. Figure 17 shows
the resting state and actuated state of the fabricated solar
tracking system based on the small satellites.
Active materials for the origami‐inspired active struc-
ture are commonly chosen polymers such as shape mem-
ory polymers, liquid crystalline polymers, gels, and
SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ
conjugated polymers.54 In this way, the intricate Japanese
paper‐folding art origami based solar cells are used for
space exploration missions.
2.4.4 | Graphene
Graphene has been successfully used by researchers to
develop new, transparent, and thin film technologies
because of its unique two‐dimensional honeycomb struc-
ture of carbon atoms. It is easy to fabricate BISC with
graphene. They also act as a photocatalyst with an ultra-
high surface area, flexibility, and recyclability. Organic
solar cells with many advantages are fabricated with
these graphene structures. Recent studies show that
graphene‐based solar cells reduce reflectivity by 20%
and thereby efficiency increases to 20%, a single layer of
graphene yields transparency of 97.7%. When graphene
is doped with silicon, the material formed has more
advanced features than a normal solar cell made of
silicon.55
2.4.5 | Multijunction solar cells
Multijunction solar cells find interesting applications in
aerospace because of their higher power conversion effi-
ciencies and reduced material usage and also because of
their radiation resistance.56-58 While locating metamor-
phic and lattice matched triple‐junction solar cells under
concentrated illumination, an achieved higher efficiency
of about 43.5% was recorded.59,60 Yu et al61 demonstrated
the amalgamation of bioinspired antireflective structures
into a monolithically grown triple‐junction solar cell
Ga0.5In0.5P/In0.01Ga0.99As/Ge. The moth‐eye struc-
tures served as an inspiration for these multijunction
solar cells with a pitch of about 600 nm and depth of
FIGURE 17 The resting state (left) and
actuated state (right) of the fabricated
solar tracking system54 [Colour figure can
be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
SENTHIL AND YUVARAJ 11

about 900 nm, which resulted in the overall increase of
ultraviolet reflection of about 35% at 300‐nm wavelength.
The surface recombination was mitigated by the epitaxial
layer on a cell that provided larger bandgap than normal
layers. Therefore, the omnidirectional enhancement of
current production was enhanced by the multijunction
solar cells.
3 | DISC USS I ON
The research carried out in bioinspired field has resulted
in a greater selective energy conversion rate. For exam-
ple, using one of the bioinspirations, as observed from
a black butterfly, 200% increase of incident light absorp-
tion was obtained in pilot units40 with the temperature
at 50°C. Similarly, when graphene was doped with
quantum dots, an efficiency of 16.2% was achieved.55
Thin film technology, nanotechnology, and organic
polymers supported the research and fabrications of
such solar cells that provide betterment of the cell per-
formances. Figure 18 shows the bioinspired computa-
tional algorithms.
Recent trends depict that only one of the bioinspired
techniques has been fully developed for power
conversion, and it has yielded good results in solar cells.
The future scope of this field can be adapting the results
of these inspirations and incorporate them in the previ-
ous methods using the growth of hybrid materials involv-
ing properties of organic and synthetic polymers for the
production of solar cells that have higher promising inci-
dent light absorption and power conversion rates. The
combination of the above techniques may further
increase the operation and performance of the solar cells.
For example, not all the natural dyes are used in DSSC,
some of the investigations as suggested in dye's section
can aid their selection process. Similarly, incident light
absorption and transmission researches can be benefitted
by adapting these techniques. The selected bioinspired
solar materials are given in Table 2.
The potential applications of BISC are the maximum
power point tracking in solar cells, anticorrosion behavior
of solar cells under the extreme climatic condition, self‐
cleaning of solar cells, low reflectance and high light
absorption rate, new designs of energy storage devices,
production of biodegradable solar cells, shape‐changing
solar cell in space shuttles, and improvement of optical
properties and performance of solar cells.
The drawbacks in this field are the lack of necessary
technology for mass fabrication, complicated analytical

FIGURE 18 Bioinspired computational algorithms developed so far41

TABLE 2 Bioinspired solar cell materials

Materials Inspiration Application/Functionality

TiO2, ZnO Plants Photoanodes of DSSC9,11-16

MnZnO and polystyrene Lotus Superhydrophobic dyes for DSSC30-33
Zn0.5Cd@PAN Leaf Photocatalytic H2 production34
Bamboo, SiO2 Leaf Self‐cleaning ability of solar cells39
Synthetic polymers Butterfly Light absorption in solar cells40
Polyacrylamide hydrogel Natural dyes Natural pigments for DSSC42,43
Silicon Human eyes, dipteran Light absorption as Si funnel arrays BCL44,46
Ruthenium (II)–polypyridyl Ruthenium Transient absorption and fluorescence lifetime50-53
Shape memory polymers Origami Space applications of solar cells54
Graphene … High transparency (97.7%), low reflectivity and
higher energy (20%) conversion55
Multijunction solar cells … High PCE56-61
12
process and need for an integrated knowledge in diverse
fields of biology, quantum, nano, and physics for the
effective development of new bioinspired applications.
The sustained efforts are rendered by the scientific com-
munity to simulate and apply the developed techniques
in electric power generation through PV semiconductor
cells for a full prevailing range of ultraviolet, infrared,
tropical, and temperate conditions with varying ambient
temperatures. These outcomes from bioinspirations can
be deployed for their research areas accordingly.
4 | CONCLUSIONS
BISC can be effectively utilized in solar‐based energy con-
version systems. The selective photoanodes like TiO2 and
ZnO are more beneficial to convert sunlight into electric-
ity in DSSC. Doping of graphene to quantum dot solar
cells produces 16.2% conversion efficiency. The omnidi-
rectional current production is enhanced with the
multijunction solar cells with the maximum conversion
efficiency of 43% under concentrated illumination.
The challenges of BISC are the synthesis of the mate-
rials to mimic the nature. The opportunities are the
research and implementation of physical and chemical
materials to perform almost similar to nature. The future
directions of such solar cells are the employability of effi-
cient, stable, and sustainable bioinspired techniques for
potential applications with sustainability. Bioinspired
solar cells have scope for tremendous advancements in
the field of photovoltaic solar energy conversion with
higher energy conversion efficiency.
The major concerns of the end of life management of
PV panels are the environmental issues and cost involved
in the recycling, recovery, and reusability of cell mate-
rials. Production of biodegradable solar cells materials
are the important aspects of the present researchers
towards the sustainable energy deployment.
ORCID
Ramalingam Senthil http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7570-
8351
Srinivasan Yuvaraj http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4978-7380
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How to cite this article: Senthil R, Yuvaraj S. A
comprehensive review on bioinspired solar
photovoltaic cells. Int J Energy Res. 2018;1–14.
https://doi.org/10.1002/er.4255