Enhancing the efficiency of solar cells is an important step in the right direction for clean energy. One of the key processes in organic solar cells is known as singlet exciton fission (SEF), which is linked to separating and extracting charges after shining light onto photovoltaic devices – a vital part of what makes some types of solar panels efficient or not.
At the Central Laser Facility (CLF), a collaborative team from Newcastle University (the Harriman group) and the Octopus Imaging Cluster conducted new research to follow their previous work published last year, looking into how SEF works. In their latest paper, which was published in Physical Chemistry A, the team used Octopus' specialist equipment to delve deeper into SEF's behaviour.
This deep-dive also involved a collaboration with the CLF's Ultra Laser Facility to utilise their laser micro-spectroscopy techniques – allowing them to illuminate grains of the organic material with green laser light.
The SEF mechanism has long been a curiosity in the field of molecular photophysics and the research may offer a potential route for enhancing the performance of certain types of organic solar cells.
To read the paper, click here.
