A team of researchers from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) -Higher Council for Scientific Research– has developed a new analysis method that evaluates the efficiency of organic materials for photovoltaic devices. This new method assesses materials and optimizes their efficiency 50 times faster than conventional methods. The study, published in the Advanced Electronic Materials journal, has been developed by the Mariano Campoy-Quiles´ team of researchers from the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB).
“Organic materials have an enormous potential to be the main ingredient in low-cost clean energy technologies. Specifically, these materials are being investigated to form the active layer in devices that turn light or heat into electricity, that is, photovoltaic and thermoelectric technologies “, Campoy-Quiles explained.
This new method makes it possible to analyze more quickly and reliably which organic materials are suitable for use in these photovoltaic and thermoelectric devices. “For example, at a laboratory scale, the manufacture of organic solar cells can take a period between days and a few hours (if processed in parallel), while measuring their efficiency takes only a few minutes”, added the researcher of the CSIC.
The study has been funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain through the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence in R & D and the project of the European Research Council (ERC) ‘Finding a needle in a haystack: efficient identification of high performing organic energy materials (FOREMAT)’.
The Higher Council for Scientific Research State Agency (CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third in Europe. Seconded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the State Secretariat of Universities, Research, Development and Innovation, its main goal is to develop and boost research for the benefit of scientific and technological progress, for which it is open to collaboration with Spanish and foreign entities. Its mission is the promotion, coordination, development and dissemination of scientific and technological research of a multidisciplinary nature to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the training of personnel and advice of public and private entities in this matter.
