A study led by the University of Oxford has identified a novel semiconductor that overcomes a key limitation with light-harvesting materials.
A study led by the University of Oxford has identified a novel semiconductor that overcomes a key limitation with light-harvesting materials. The results, published today in Nature, could enable more efficient solar panels with higher outputs.
Solar energy currently faces a critical limitation: materials that absorb light more strongly also tend to be less efficient at turning captured light into electricity.
Solar cells rely on materials called semiconductors, which absorb sunlight and use its energy to free tiny negatively charged particles called electrons, leaving behind positively charged gaps known as holes. To produce electricity, these charges must be collected before an electron and a hole meet and cancel each other out, wasting the energy they carry.
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