Self-Constructing Nanomaterials Could Enhance Solar Panels

Alternative energy sources, for examples, wind, tidal waves, and solar energy are now being prioritized over traditional energy sources like charcoal or gas. The energy which is created by solar panels has been increasing more than seventeenth-fold ever since 2008. As reported by the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, the aforementioned energy could be enough to provide American families with approximately 5.7 million on average. 

However, the trouble is that these solar panels can't gather enough energy, which reaches only 33 per cent in the theoretical efficiency limit. However, this may soon be enhanced thanks to the latest technology: the self-constructing nanomaterials. The technology was produced by the Advanced Science Research Center’s researchers (ASRC). The facility can be found at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

In the Physical Chemistry journal, ASRC’s researchers explain that their self-constructing nanomaterials use the process known as singlet fission in order to expand the lifespan of the collectable electron which was generated from light. Although singlet fission was first discovered is 1965, how the process works remains a controversial topic in molecular physics.

Basically, the process grants more time to the excited electrons which were generated by light absorption. It is hinted by the researchers that the materials could potentially create extra usable charges, therefore, increase the aforementioned theoretical efficiency limit to 44 per cent. The team has created materials with self-constructing features by fusing different variations of the frequently used industrial dyes such as rylene and diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP). Each combination gives different factors, which decide how efficiently the combination harnesses solar energy.

A method of increasing the energy created from collected solar light, the following step would be finding the way to harness all the energy created in the meantime. The process will take much time to be perfect; however, the initial results have paved the way for new experimentations.

According to Professor Adam Braunschweig – lead researcher of the study – the works provides them with a library of nanomaterials that they research study for harnessing solar energy. He further stated that their method of fusing dyes into functional materials that use self-assembly presumably means they can adjust their characters and enhance the efficiency of the critical light-harnessing process.