Researchers tap infrared spectrum to improve solar cell efficiency
A research team from the University of California, Riverside, has developed a method of converting infrared light from the sun into solar energy, potentially making solar panels up to 30 per cent more efficient.
The team’s report, published in Nano Letters, explains that by combining inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals with organic molecules, they were able to “upconvert” photons in the visible and near-infrared regions of the solar spectrum.
“The infrared region of the solar spectrum passes right through the photovoltaic materials that make up today’s solar cells,” said professor of chemistry Christopher Bardeen.
“This is energy lost, no matter how good your solar cell. The hybrid material we have come up with first captures two infrared photons that would normally pass right through a solar cell without being converted to electricity, then adds their energies together to make one higher energy photon.”
According to Bardeen, this upconverted photon can be absorbed by photovoltaic cells, generating electricity from light that ordinarily does not produce any.
“The key to this research is the hybrid composite material – combining inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles with organic compounds,” he said.
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