Non-Toxic, Efficient Solar Cells Through Sustainable Manufacturing

[Left: Rui Zhang, researcher at LiU. Right: Feng Gao, Professor of Optoelectronics at LiU. Credit: Thor Balkhed, Linköping University]

Harnessing the power of the sun, solar panels generate electricity sustainably, making them especially valuable in remote, off-grid areas. They bridge the energy gap for communities that would otherwise depend on costly and polluting fossil fuels. Recent advancements in solar technology have expanded beyond traditional silicon-based cells, introducing innovative alternatives like organic solar cells. These cutting-edge devices use semiconducting plastics, offering promising new possibilities for clean energy generation.

Organic solar cells are not only cheap and simple to manufacture but also lightweight and flexible. This versatility enables their integration into unconventional surfaces like windows, clothing, or indoor environments. Organic solar cells are now capable of converting around 20% of sunlight into electricity—a remarkable achievement stemming from intensive materials research and studies of the interaction between the molecules in the material, the so-called morphology.

However, a significant challenge for organic solar cells lies in their reliance on toxic and environmentally harmful substances involved in their production, which limits scalability. Addressing this issue, a research team from Linköping University, led by Professor Feng Gao and researcher Rui Zhang, in collaboration with colleagues from China and the United States, has discovered a way for producing efficient organic solar cells with several different environmentally friendly solvents. Their study, published in the journal Nature Energy, uncovers the key factors governing morphology, providing valuable insights into the long-standing challenge of optimizing morphology to enhance efficiency. These findings also provide a roadmap for designing organic solar cells that meet the requirements of large-scale production using green solvents.

-What we have achieved is a low-energy manufacturing process that enables large scale production of highly efficient organic solar cells with minimal environmental impact and at a low-cost, says Professor Feng Gao from Linköping University and WISE researcher.

For further reading, refer to the publication: “Equally high efficiencies of organic solar cells processed from different solvents reveal key factors for morphology control” in the journal of Nature Energy.

To learn more about Professor Feng Gao’s research at WISE visit: https://wise-materials.org/project/stable-organic-transport-materials-for-next-generation-solar-cells/

and https://wise-materials.org/project/end-of-life-perovskite-solar-module-recycling-for-sustainable-photovoltaics/