One important class of
organic solar cells uses dyes applied to a semiconductor material like titanium dioxide (TiO2), for example.
Organic electronic devices such as OLEDs and
organic solar cells use thin films of organic molecules for the electrically active materials, making flexible and low - cost devices possible.
Not exact matches
One type, known as plastic,
organic or polymer photovoltaic
solar cells,
uses conductive
organic polymers or
organic molecules to absorb light, transfer the charge and produce electricity.
To construct the
solar cell, the semiconductor molecules are deposited as thin films on glass with the same production methods
used by
organic light - emitting diode manufacturers.
In the paper published in Nature Energy, the researchers described how they
used organic semiconductors — contorted hexabenzocoronene (cHBC) derivatives — for constructing the
solar cells.
By contrast, semi-transparent
solar cells use, for example,
organic or dye - sensitized materials.
Metal -
organic perovskite layers for
solar cells are frequently fabricated
using the spin coating technique on industry - relevant compact substrates.
According to Colsmann, another field of application is the integration of
solar cells into buildings: Since the glass facades of high - rise buildings must often be shaded, it is an obvious option to
use organic solar modules for transforming the absorbed light into electric power.
«The
organic solar cells can be
used in many contexts, not least those in which their special properties are useful: they can be semitransparent, soft, flexible, can be obtained in different colours, and they are cheap to manufacture,» says Olle Inganäs, professor of biomolecular and
organic electronics at Linköping University.
In a semi-transparent
solar cell module as shown in the photograph, electrodes with two variants of the polymer PEDOT: PSS (commonly
used in
organic electronics) are
used, where one acts as the anode and the other is modified to become the cathode.
The results are encouraging for Aspuru - Guzik, who, in collaboration with computer giant IBM, is
using the same computational tools to screen some 3.5 million
organic molecules in the search for a new generation of flexible and lightweight
solar cells.
The ability to
use cheap materials and simple manufacturing methods are two huge advantages of printed
organic solar cells.
To arrive at these findings, the researchers tested a number of molecules that are also
used within
organic solar cell research at Chalmers.
Postdoctoral research associate Monojit Bag (left) and graduate student Tim Gehan (right) synthesize polymer nanoparticles for
use in
organic - based
solar cells being made at the UMass Amherst - based energy center.
While there is a growing market for
organic solar cells ¬ ¬ - they contain materials that are cheaper, more abundant, and more environmentally friendly than those
used in typical
solar panels — they also tend to be less efficient in converting sunlight to electricity than conventional
solar cells.
While there is a growing market for
organic solar cells --- they contain materials that are cheaper, more abundant, and more environmentally friendly than those
used in typical
solar panels — they also tend to be less efficient in converting sunlight to electricity than conventional
solar cells.
Light harvesting management by
using microstructural is a promising strategy for enhancing photoactive layer absorption in
organic (OSCs) and perovskite
solar cells (PSCs).
Resume: Light harvesting management by
using microstructural is a promising strategy for enhancing photoactive layer absorption in
organic (OSCs) and perovskite
solar cells (PSCs).
The information they gather could help improve the design and performance of
organic polymers: flexible, stretchable, biocompatible electronic materials that could be
used to make everything from printable
solar cells to brain implants that restore movement to paralyzed limbs.
Using Argonne's Advanced Photon Source, researchers analyzed how
organic solar cells» crystal structures develop as they are produced under different conditions.
The molecules
used in the study are photosensitive and are
used in
organic solar cells; similar techniques could be
used to study a wide variety of molecules.
Research in the Bredas group focuses on computational materials chemistry: computational methods are
used as a tool to uncover the properties of novel advanced materials, understand their chemistry and physics, and derive an integrated understanding of the intrinsic molecular - and nano - scale processes in a variety of emerging applications (such as
solar cells or low - power displays), especially in the fields of
organic electronics, photonics, and information technology.
A Yale team has looked to nature to help solve a design problem,
using tiny fossilized creatures called diatoms to improve the light absorption of
organic solar cells.
These findings, published recently by the high - impact journal Nanoscale («Tessellated gold nanostructures from Au144 (SCH2CH2Ph) 60 molecular precursors and their
use in
organic solar cell enhancement»), represent a game - changing innovation that holds the potential to take
solar power mainstream and dramatically decrease the world's dependence on traditional, resource - based sources of energy, says Giovanni Fanchini from Western's Faculty of Science.
A long sought - after «nanograss» structure promises to significantly boost the efficiency of
organic solar cells by capturing light more efficiently while also allowing the
use of cheaper, lower - grade materials.
A point I would also like to make is that
organic solar cells would can be produced in a lab, and
use no silicon.
This new technology, called a biophotovoltaic, is able to harvest the energy in sunlight to produce electricity like a synthetic
solar cell, but
using organic materials.
A cheaper approach involves
using organic semiconductors — basically, plastics that conduct electricity — to make
solar cells, Chan says.
This film is then
used to enhance the photoconversion efficiency of
organic solar cells.