Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Catching some rays: Organic solar cells make a leap forward
http://www.anl.gov/articles/catching-some-rays-organic-solar-cells-make-leap-forward[font face=Serif][font size=5]Catching some rays: Organic solar cells make a leap forward[/font]
[font size=4]By Jared Sagoff • June 13, 2012[/font]
[font size=3]Drawn together by the force of nature, but pulled apart by the force of man – it sounds like the setting for a love story, but it is also a basic description of how scientists have begun to make more efficient organic solar cells.
…
In the new experiment, Chen and her colleagues examined how four different molecules in the polymer layer in the middle of a solar cell generated different exciton dynamics. They discovered that more heavily polarized excitons yielded more efficient polymer-based solar cells.
“If the conventional exciton, right after it is generated, contains the hole and electron in almost the same location, these new materials are generating an exciton that is much more polarized at the beginning,” Chen said. Currently, the collaborative team is exploring new materials for high-efficiency organic solar cells based on these findings.
Organic solar cells still have a ways to go to get close to the efficiency of their inorganic, silicon-based competitors, but they remain much more attractive from a cost perspective. Further research into the electronic dynamics of organic photovoltaics is essential to improving their efficiency and thus making solar power cost-competitive with conventional energy sources, Chen said.
…[/font][/font]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja209003y[font size=4]By Jared Sagoff • June 13, 2012[/font]
[font size=3]Drawn together by the force of nature, but pulled apart by the force of man – it sounds like the setting for a love story, but it is also a basic description of how scientists have begun to make more efficient organic solar cells.
…
In the new experiment, Chen and her colleagues examined how four different molecules in the polymer layer in the middle of a solar cell generated different exciton dynamics. They discovered that more heavily polarized excitons yielded more efficient polymer-based solar cells.
“If the conventional exciton, right after it is generated, contains the hole and electron in almost the same location, these new materials are generating an exciton that is much more polarized at the beginning,” Chen said. Currently, the collaborative team is exploring new materials for high-efficiency organic solar cells based on these findings.
Organic solar cells still have a ways to go to get close to the efficiency of their inorganic, silicon-based competitors, but they remain much more attractive from a cost perspective. Further research into the electronic dynamics of organic photovoltaics is essential to improving their efficiency and thus making solar power cost-competitive with conventional energy sources, Chen said.
…[/font][/font]
