Study on photovoltaic cells is Hot Article

Replacing photovoltaic panels with windows capable of producing electricity? A study by the LaserLab at the University of Coimbra (UC) on third-generation photovoltaic cells, which are more efficient and less expensive than current systems, has taken a step toward the future development of windows that convert sunlight into electrical energy. The results were recently published in the journal Dalton Transactions, in an article considered a HOT Article.

Funded by FCT and LaserLab Europe, and coordinated by Carlos Serpa and Hugh Burrows, the study evaluated the potential of certain platinum compounds to convert solar energy into electricity. Using a sensitive method of photoacoustic calorimetry, it was possible to determine the degree of efficiency of electron transfer from these platinum compounds bound to a set of organic molecules to a semiconductor material, in order to produce electricity, making rational use of solar energy.

The platinum compounds studied, explains Carlos Serpa, "have the great advantage of their intense absorption capacity in the visible and part of the near-infrared spectrum. Put more simply, if we think of the colors of the rainbow, these platinum compounds have a strong ability to absorb most of those colors, especially red, which is more difficult to capture. This is an essential characteristic for the efficient conversion of sunlight into electrical energy."

However, as the researcher explains, "it was found that the lifetime of the compound in the state required for conversion into electrical energy is very short, competing with the transfer of electrons to the electrical circuit. Therefore, further studies are still needed, involving the modification of the molecules surrounding the platinum atom, thus altering the properties of the compound to obtain the most favorable conditions for transforming captured sunlight into electricity."