According to EurekAlert!, a scientific news sharing platform of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an international team of materials scientists from France, Russia and Kazakhstan found that the internal structure of high-molecular polymers is orderly, which can greatly improve the efficiency of organic solar cells. This latest study was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
Solar panels and batteries are the two most promising methods of power generation in the current market. As of 2017, the global installed solar panels generate a total of 400 megawatts of power. The rapid development of the solar industry depends on the continuous reduction of battery prices. And its efficiency continues to improve.
The introduction of new materials is one way to improve solar energy systems. In solar panels, the basic components needed to convert light energy into electrical energy are photovoltaic cells or solar cells, which are mainly composed of polysilicon, which is a high purity silicon. Polycrystalline form. It is understood that scientists are busy looking for alternative materials for polysilicon, and organic polymer materials with photovoltaic properties are among the main candidates.
The researchers said that the addition of fluorine atoms to the polymer can effectively increase the efficiency of solar cells. This method, known as fluorination, has been shown to enhance the photovoltaic performance of polymers, but the principle is less known. It clarifies the positive effect of fluorination on the efficiency of the cell by changing the internal structure of the material.
After many experiments, the research team selected organic polymer materials with better photovoltaic properties and further studied their microstructure. After X-ray analysis, it was found that the internal structure of the polymer was more ordered. The molecular charge carrier has better fluidity, so that the material can conduct electricity better. For solar cells, this is undoubtedly a huge advantage.
One of the researchers, Professor Dimitri Ivanov, head of the Functional Organic Composites Laboratory at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Director of the French National Center for Scientific Research, said: 'The challenge of this research is to choose molecules that improve battery efficiency. Energy levels and the development of supramolecular structures that enable charge transport to electrodes.
