Thursday September 07, 2006

Synthetic molecules capture solar energy

peakoil.com -> newbuilder.co.uk :

A leaf is a highly efficient solar cell and researchers in Sydney have created molecules that mimic those in plants. Like the cells in plants, they harvest light and create power. According to the research team, led by Dr Deanna D'Alessandro, the best leaves can harvest 30-40% of the light falling on them. The latest state of the art solar cells are only 15-20% efficient, and expensive to make. But the researchers say they have recreated some of the key systems that plants use in photosynthesis.

Since they are so efficient at storing energy, D'Alessandro believes they could also be used as batteries - replacing the metal-based batteries that high technology devices depend on. The team say their preliminary results are very promising, although they are still in the early stages of building practical solar energy devices using the molecules.

Now they've made the molecules, the team along with their Japanese collaborators at Osaka University are working to combine them in the equivalent of a plant cell. Over the next five years they will attempt to scale the technology up to commercial scale solar panels.

(2006-09-07 12:22:12 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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