Phytoplankton helps solve design challenge in OPVs

The most common type of phytoplankton found in nature is helping scientists at Yale University solve a design problem in organic photovoltaics (PVs).

As part of the project, Andre Taylor, associate professor of chemical & environmental engineering, and his team studied the use of fossilised diatoms, the skeleton of which is made of nanostructured silica or glass. This feature allows them to absorb and scatter light.

The team has successfully dispersed diatoms throughout the active layer of the organic solar cell to trim the amount of the material needed for that layer, while maintaining the same levels of power output.

“We were able to see what the right concentration was and how much of this material we needed to put into our solar cells to get enhancement,” explains Lyndsey McMillon-Brown, lead author of the study, published in Organic Electronics.

Organic PV cell designs require very thin active layers of 100 to 300 nanometers and that has been limiting their conversion efficiency. Taylor’s team has been able to beat that challenge with the use of diatoms. These algae have been optimised for light absorption through billions of years of adaptive evolution, the scientists say.

The team includes participants from NASA, Princeton University and Lincoln University.

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