An ultra-thin organic solar cell: the future of solar energy

Japanese scientists create a new, ultra-thin, and efficient organic solar cell. It can be attached to fabrics and used to charge portable devices.

It’s five in the afternoon and your mobile phone battery is about to run out. You open your pocket and take out a foldable charging pad. With a cable, it allows you to charge your smartphone using solar energy.

Until very recently, this scenario seemed more like something out of the imagination than reality. Now it appears to be close to becoming commonplace.

And that’s because researchers from the centerThe kingdom, in Japan, next to the textile manufacturerToray, have created anew ultra-thin organic solar cellAnd it happens to be the most efficient so far.

A revolutionary organic solar cell

Measuring just three micrometers thick (one-thousandth of a millimeter), this organic solar cell withstands temperatures approaching 100 degrees Celsius. It also boasts an energy conversion efficiency of 10%, the highest achieved to date, as the group reported in a press release.

This discovery has all the makings of becominga true technological revolutionThe applications of these solar cells are very diverse.

Thus, laptops, tablets, and smartphones appear to be the main beneficiaries of textile cells. But beyond everyday objects like these, these cells could represent a significant boost for the industries themselves.solar panelsPrimarily due to the commendable increase in the energy conversion rate.

Furthermore, hospitals and tents could also benefit from this new textile technology, primarily because they may be located in areas without access to the electrical grid.

Structure of an ordinary solar cell

The challenge of degradation

But despite all its advantages, the organic solar cell faces a major obstacle to its widespread adoption: its degradation from environmental factors. Thus, the technology that could replace external batteries suffers rapid deterioration caused by elements such as water and oxygen. This is a challenge that researchers are trying to overcome, with the aim of launching a prototype by the beginning of the 2020s.

Thus, the aforementioned group of Japanese scientists has developed a polymer capable of reducing cell deterioration by 20% under atmospheric conditions.