In what could revolutionize solar panel efficiency researches at Melbourne University have discovered a way to manipulate a ‘quasiparticle’ called an exciton which could prove to be a great inroad into better energy harvesting.
Science has known about these quasiparticles for years now but this is the first time we now understand and can manipulate excitons on a molecular level.
Hard to measure and study exciton’s have been elusive until now with researches confident that studying them will yield great results according to a release by Melbourne University.
Something to get ‘excit-on’ about
Predicating excitons behavior is something that Professor Ken Ghiggino a photochemist is most interested in finding out about.
They are measured in femtoseconds [one quadrillionth of a second] and up to nanoseconds [one thousand-millionth of a second]. They measure them by using extremely fast cameras that are able to create graphs in femtosecond time scales.
By finding out what excitons are formed and with what material, they are then optimized to help create the most energy efficient solutions.
What do the experts say?
Centre Director Professor Paul Mulvaney saying on the project,
“We want to develop new materials for photovoltaics, to bring the cost of solar energy down. And we want to look for new ways to use solar energy, in particular flexible solar cells, so we have more architectural possibilities for exploiting these technologies, not just the rigid roof model.”
“We are also looking at the possibilities for next generation LEDs. At the moment, they are hard to manufacture at the scale, durability and quality that we need. But LEDs are the most efficient form of lighting that we know and if we could convert all the light bulbs in Australia into LEDs, then we would probably meet our emissions reduction targets,” says Professor Mulvaney.
This research has in many ways been decades in the making with Professor Mulvaney working on renewable energy during his undergraduate studies. He was trying to use solar energy to make hydrogen into fuel.
Although at that time the technology was not at the same level as his ambition he believes the time is now to invest in younger people in society to help nurture the future ground breakers of the industry.
