Splitting photons — not atoms — could unlock a sustainable, clean energy future with a color splash.
It's part of illuminating research from the University of New South Wales involving singlet fission that has the potential to double the electricity production of solar panels by creating "two packets of energy" from one photon, according to a news release.
The BBC and Reuters reported that fast-growing solar accounts for 7% of the world's electricity production, and it remains one of the cheapest and quickest energy sources to deploy. If all those panels used UNSW's singlet fission tech, the output would be instantly doubled.
"A lot of the energy from light in a solar cell is wasted as heat — which itself is also a form of energy," postdoctoral researcher Ben Carwithen said. "We're finding ways to take that wasted energy and turn it into more electricity instead."
The dual ability was unlocked after a decade of research that included magnetic testing and other analysis into the "underlying physics." The team discovered that different colors help to enhance the singlet fission effect more efficiently. The dye compound dipyrrolonaphthyridinedione was found to accommodate singlet fission without degrading when exposed to moisture, according to UNSW.
"Different colors of light carry different energies," Professor Tim Schmidt said in the release. "Blue light has more energy, but most of that gets lost as heat in a normal solar cell. With singlet fission, that excess energy can be turned into usable electricity instead."
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The solution involves putting a thin layer of industrial pigments, like the durable kind used on cars, on common silicon panels. UNSW said the singlet fission boosting shades lifted efficiency to an astounding 45% "theoretical" limit — a huge leap forward from the typical 22%-27% rate that Oxford University and others reported for silicon cells. The percentage is important because it represents the amount of energy turned into electricity.
"In principle, it's just painting an extra layer on top of the existing architecture. We need to find a way of making it work, but there's no reason why it can't," Carwithen said about the color application.
It's part of an exciting time in the solar sector, as other innovations in development can even harness indoor light.
All the tech can help to reduce reliance on grid power that uses dirty fuels, which generates heat-trapping air pollution linked by NASA to greater risks for extreme weather that's already hurting food production.
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Sign me up 👍 Down Under, the UNSW team hopes to have a "small-scale proof of concept" in "years."
Associate Professor Murad Tayebjee called it "a big step forward" for the sector, according to the release.
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