South Dakota State University (SDSU) scientists are working with new materials that can be used to make photovoltaic solar panels faster, more powerful and cheaper.
Assistant professor Qiquan Qiao in SDSU’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science said so-called SDSU organic photovoltaics, or OPVs, are less expensive to produce than traditional devices for harvesting solar energy. Qiao and his South Dakota State University colleagues also are working on organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs.
The new technology is sometimes referred to as “molecular electronics” or “organic electronics” – “organic” because it relies on carbon-based polymers and molecules as semiconductors rather than inorganic semiconductors such as silicon.
“Right now the challenge for photovoltaics is to make the technology less expensive. Therefore, the objective is find new materials and novel device structures for cost-effective photovoltaic devices,” Qiao said. “The beauty of organic photovoltaics and organic LEDs is low cost and flexibility. These devices can be fabricated by inexpensive solution-based processing techniques similar to painting or printing. The ease of production brings costs down, while the mechanical flexibility of the materials opens up a wide range of applications.”
– from sustainabledesignupdate.com