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New Path to More Efficient Organic Solar Cells Uncovered at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source

By Guest PostJanuary 12, 2013Environmentacceptor, advanced light source, affordable, als, als beamlines, amount, berkeley lab, brian collins, christopher mcneill, convert, crystallinity, donor, earth, efficient, electricity, eliot gann, energy use, exciton journey, fossil fuels, fullerene solar film, harald ade, john tumbleston, land mass, nanometers, north Carolina, organic cell, photovoltaic cells, photovoltaic devices, physicist, polymer, r soxs, research, resonant soft, silicon based, size matters, solar cell, solar energy, solvent diiodooctane, state university, stxm, sunlight, ultraviolet light beams, volume, x ray, x ray scattering, zhe li

Why are efficient and affordable solar cells so highly coveted? Volume. The amount of solar energy lighting up Earth’s land mass every year is nearly 3,000 times the total amount of annual human energy use. But to compete with energy from fossil fuels, photovoltaic devices must convert sunlight to electricity with a certain measure of efficiency. For polymer-based organic photovoltaic cells, which are far less expensive to manufacture than silicon-based solar cells, scientists have long believed that the key to high efficiencies rests in the purity of the polymer/organic cell’s two domains – acceptor and donor. Now, however, an alternate and possibly easier route forward has been shown.

Working at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS), a premier source of X-ray and ultraviolet light beams for research, an international team of scientists found that for highly efficient polymer/organic photovoltaic cells, size matters. (more…)

New Technique Controls Crystalline Structure of Titanium Dioxide

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2012Scienceanatase, antimicrobial coatings, atoms dictates, crystalline structure, dme, domain matching epitaxy, hydrogen production, jay narayan, m r bayati, north carolina state university, optimal structure, photovoltaic cells, r molaei, roger narayan, rutile, sapphire substrate, smart sensor, titanium dioxide

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for controlling the crystalline structure of titanium dioxide at room temperature. The development should make titanium dioxide more efficient in a range of applications, including photovoltaic cells, hydrogen production, antimicrobial coatings, smart sensors and optical communication technologies.

Titanium dioxide most commonly comes in one on of two major “phases,” meaning that its atoms arrange themselves in one of two crystalline structures. These phases are “anatase” or “rutile.” The arrangement of atoms dictates the material’s optical, chemical and electronic properties. As a result, each phase has different characteristics. The anatase phase has characteristics that make it better suited for use as an antibacterial agent and for applications such as hydrogen production. The rutile phase is better suited for use in other applications, such as photovoltaic cells, smart sensors and optical communication technologies. (more…)

Making Mirrors for the Sun

By Guest PostJuly 11, 2012Scienceblake coughenour, glass mirror, mirror lab, photovoltaic cells, photovoltaic prototype, pv cells, rioglass solar, roger angel, solar mirrors, solar spectrum, telescope mirror

With $1.5 million from the Department of Energy, UA researchers are continuing to improve groundbreaking technology to produce solar electricity at a price competitive with non-renewable energy sources.

Just behind the University of Arizona’s Bear Down Gymnasium, a house-sized frame of crisscrossing steel tubes is mounted onto a swiveling post in the concrete bottom of an empty swimming pool. (more…)

Tag Archives: photovoltaic cells

New Path to More Efficient Organic Solar Cells Uncovered at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source

New Technique Controls Crystalline Structure of Titanium Dioxide

Making Mirrors for the Sun