New solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels
by over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.
Scientists from the Cavendish Laboratory, the University’s
Department of Physics, have developed a novel type of solar cell which
could harvest energy from the sun much more efficiently than
traditional designs. The research, published today in the journal
NanoLetters, could dramatically improve the amount of useful energy
created by solar panels.
 |
Scientists
have developed a new kind of solar cell which could capture
significantly more of the energy from the sun than current cells.
|
Solar panels work by absorbing energy from particles of light, called
photons, which then generate electrons to create electricity.
Traditional solar cells are only capable of capturing part of the light
from the sun and much of the energy of the absorbed light, particularly
of the blue photons, is lost as heat. This inability to extract
the full energy of all of the different colours of light at once means
that traditional solar cells are incapable of converting more than 34%
of the available sunlight into electrical power.
Organic and hybrid solar cells have an advantage over current
silicon-based technology because they can be produced in large
quantities at low cost by roll-to-roll printing. However, much of the
cost of a solar power plant is in the land, labour, and installation
hardware. As a result, even if organic solar panels are less expensive,
we need to improve their efficiency to make them competitive."
—Bruno Ehrler, the lead author on the paper, Cavendish
Laboratory, the University of Cambridge's Department of Physics New
solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels by
over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.
Scientists from the Cavendish Laboratory, the University’s
Department of Physics, have developed a novel type of solar cell which
could harvest energy from the sun much more efficiently than
traditional designs. The research, published today in the journal
NanoLetters, could dramatically improve the amount of useful energy
created by solar panels.
Solar panels work by absorbing energy from particles of light, called
photons, which then generate electrons to create electricity.
Traditional solar cells are only capable of capturing part of the light
from the sun and much of the energy of the absorbed light, particularly
of the blue photons, is lost as heat. This inability to extract
the full energy of all of the different colours of light at once means
that traditional solar cells are incapable of converting more than 34%
of the available sunlight into electrical power.
The Cambridge team, led by Professor Neil Greenham and Professor Sir
Richard Friend, has developed a hybrid cell which absorbs red
light and harnesses the extra energy of blue light to boost the
electrical current. Typically, a solar cell generates a single electron
for each photon captured. However, by adding pentacene, an
organic semiconductor, the solar cells can generate two electrons for
every photon from the blue light spectrum. This could enable the
cells to capture 44% of the incoming solar energy.
Bruno Ehrler, the lead author on the paper, said: “Organic and
hybrid solar cells have an advantage over current silicon-based
technology because they can be produced in large quantities at low cost
by roll-to-roll printing. However, much of the cost of a solar power
plant is in the land, labour, and installation hardware. As a result,
even if organic solar panels are less expensive, we need to improve
their efficiency to make them competitive. Otherwise, it’d be
like buying a cheap painting, only to find out you need an expensive
frame.”
Mark Wilson, another author on the paper, said: “I think
it’s very important that we move towards sustainable sources of
energy, and it’s exciting to help explore possible
solutions.”
Dr. Akshay Rao, co-author on the paper noted: “This is just the
first step towards a new generation of solar cells and we are very
excited to be a part of this effort.”
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