Researchers from Sweden, Italy and England are developing a new solar energy technology that could serve as the basis for producing solar panels cheaper and with a lower energy loss compared to silicon ones.

A group of researchers from the Universities Uppsala, in Sweden, Newcastle, in England and Naples Federico II, in Italy, are working on a new solar energy technology that uses low-cost materials that are widely present in the Earth's crust to manufacture solar panels. more efficient than common photovoltaic panels that are produced based on silicon. The group created dynamic dimeric copper complexes using tetradentate ligands, which are substances that bind four donor atoms together. New solar panel systems offer a fast electrical charge transport junction in an unprecedented two-electron mechanism.

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Understand why common photovoltaic panels are less efficient

According to Marina Freitag, co-author of the study and researcher at Newcastle University, the dynamic dimer system shows a new generation of efficient redox mediators for devices, which can help power solar devices with much lower voltage losses, with rates of recombination and very low reorganization energies.

Common redox mediators, based on metal coordination complexes, have electron transfer through the change in oxidation state in the metal medium. The problem is that this transfer is shifted to oxidation states, generating large energy losses by solar panels.

New solar panel technology promises more autonomy with less spending

In the new approach generated by the researchers, dynamic dimer redox mediators offer a mechanism that is formed by two electrons, making it possible to manufacture more durable and efficient photovoltaic panels. Density functional theory calculations show that energy losses are very small and it is difficult to exceed 0,27 volts.

According to Freitag, a large part of the progress, which allowed the use of simple, cheap materials that are widely present on earth, came from the improvement of compounds responsible for absorbing solar energy. The load transfer deadlocks are still a barrier to the widespread use of solar energy technology, however it was an essential step to overcome the situation.

New photovoltaic panels will help reduce costs in several regions

Copper, in its metallic form, shows high durability, good malleability, excellent corrosion resistance and also good ductility. All these characteristics make it a great material to be used in alloys that conduct electricity, mainly in large-scale systems.

With the new technology of hybrid photovoltaic cells, the researchers plan to develop new, more sustainable and affordable solar panels, which can be used in regions with an energy crisis, where the use of solar energy is still very expensive and commercially unfeasible.

According to Ana Belén Munõz-Garcia, co-author of the study and also a professor at the University of Naples Federico II, the work, which can create new solar panels, proves that research is essential, combining theories and experiments, and can provide solid scientific bases for optimize the use of clean energy materials and interfaces with a real impact on the world, transforming energy into an accessible and inexpensive element.