"Photographs of upconversion in a cuvette containing (a) an optimized cadmium selenide /9-ACA/DPA and (b) a cadmium selenide /ODPA/DPA mixture. (9-ACA: 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid; ODPA: octadecylphosphonic acid; and DPA: 9,10-diphenylanthracene.) They were excited with a focused continuous wave 532-nm laser. The violet DPA output in (a) swamps the green beam that is clearly seen in (b), where no upconversion takes place. This indicates the enhancement of the upconverted fluorescence by the 9-ACA ligand. The photographs were taken with an iPhone 5 and were not modified in any way. Image credit: Zhiyuan Huang, UC Riverside."
Although solar panels have their limitations, they continue to be further advanced as an alternative to current energy technology. That’s why researchers from UC Riverside recently discovered a way to enhance solar panel efficiency by up to 30 percent. To put that into perspective, let’s say a panel in 15% efficient in turning light into energy. Add 30% to that efficiency rating, you get (1.3x15%)… 19.5%.
Current solar panels can only convert light in the visible electromagnetic spectrum into energy. That’s why present commercial panels only actually convert 20 percent of daylight into electricity. Researchers at UC Riverside, however, asked what would happen if a broader range of electromagnetic light could be converted into electricity, and they made it happen.
The team was able to successfully coat commercial panels with a substance that allows light from the infrared spectrum to be converted into visible orangey-yellow light. It was then able to be absorbed and converted by the panel’s existing technology, boosting efficiency by up to 30 percent. The team said it would like to boost efficiency by another 10 percent before proposing the technology for commercial use. Still, the fact that it is in existence is promising.
Researchers at UC Riverside are not the only scientists to propose the enhancement of solar panel technology through similar means, although they are one of the first to have success. There is much work to be done before the world can rely upon alternate energy sources, but with more breakthroughs like this, hopefully that reality is forthcoming.
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