This could pave the way for entirely new organic solar modules. The fundamentals for conversion and storage using the molecule have now been published in the journal Nature Chemistry. Hopes remain high that solar energy will be a major driver of the energy transformation. However, as sunlight is a highly volatile source of energy, a solution must be found for storing energy efficiently. "Until now, we have transferred electricity from solar modules that is not consumed immediately into a battery, where it can be used as and when required," explains Prof. Dr. Julien Bachmann, Chair of Chemistry of Thin Film Materials (CTFM) at FAU. "By repeatedly changing between chemical and electrical energy, at least 30% of the original converted energy is lost during this battery storage process." Together with Michael Bosch, a doctoral candidate at the Chair CTFM, Bachmann hopes to coax a new property from a known material, making it either converting sunlight to electrical energy or storing the energy, depending on requirements. The material in question is norbornadiene, a hydrocarbon isomer consisting of two molecule rings. If norbornadiene is exposed to ultraviolet light, a partial reorganization of the atomic bonds leads to it converting to the similarly structured but more highly strained quadricyclane. "The conversion process is already known, however, research has focused until now on recovering the stored energy in the form of heat," explains Bachmann. "Our new approach involves controlling the process to allow the stored energy to be made available as electricity as well, even after months have passed." Scientists still do not fully understand the physical-chemical mechanisms behind the transitions between the isomers. Researchers from Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and the U.S. are working together with colleagues from FAU to gain a better understanding of the process by using photoelectron spectroscopy. Bachmann... |