Originally published January 17 2005
Organic crystalline material promising in converting sunlight to electricity
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
High energy prices are driving the search for cheaper renewable energy. But even using free sunlight can be expensive because of the cost of producing solar panels. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a new approach, using pentacene, which is highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. Pentacene’s crystalline structure makes it easier for electricity to move through it.
As the price of energy continues to rise, businesses are looking to renewable energy for cheaper sources of power.
Making electricity from the most plentiful of these sources - the sun -can be expensive due to the high price of producing traditional silicon-based solar cells.
Made from cheaper materials, their flexibility and feather-weight construction promise to open up new markets for solar energy, potentially powering everything from Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to iPods and laptop computers.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new approach to creating lightweight organic solar cells.
By using pentacene, researchers have been able to convert sunlight to electricity with high efficiency.
Professor Bernard Kippelen and research scientists Benoit Domercq and Seunghyup Yoo show off their organic solar cell in front of an array of silicon solar cells on the roof of Tech's Campus Recreation Center.
"We've demonstrated that using a crystalline organic film, pentacene, is a promising new approach to developing organic solar cells," said Bernard Kippelen, professor in the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. "In our paper, we show that we've been able to convert solar energy into electricity with 2.7 percent efficiency.
Kippelen and other professors at the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics started LumoFlex, a spin-off company based at Georgia Tech, to capitalize on the commercial applications of the research.
"The silicon and organic photovoltaic groups are working together at Georgia Tech to accelerate the development of cost-effective solar cells to solve the energy and environmental problems simultaneously and reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Ajeet Rohatgi, director of UCEP and regent's professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
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