Designing organic solar cells

Researchers from seven research institutes created rules for designing high-efficiency organic solar cells.  Organic solar cells are made from carbon-based materials, provide benefits compared with other solar cell technologies. They’re flexible and light weight make them suitable for sensors applications. A obstacle when developing  organic solar cells is that they typically have large energy losses. "We have formulated some rational design rules to minimise energy losses in organic solar cells. Following these rules, we present a range of examples with low energy losses and high power conversion efficiencies," says Feng Gao, associate professor at the Division of Biomolecular and Organic Electronics at Linkoping University. The design rules entails that the cells promise to catch up with their competitors with power conversion efficiency. 

When photons from the sun are absorbed by the semiconducting polymer in a solar cell, electrons in the donor material are raised to an excited state. The holes are created in the ground state where the electrons remain attracted. To separate bound electrons and holes, an acceptor substance is included. But, this acceptor material results in  energy losses that has hindered the organic solar cell community. 

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.