Protecting organic solar panels over time with an antioxidant also used to supplement diets: this is the solution developed by a research group led by Yepin Zhao of the University of California in Los Angeles whose results are published in Nature Sustainability to make the semi-transparent organic solar cells are more resistant, capable of letting the sunlight pass through and therefore ideal for covering greenhouses.
Semi-transparent solar cells, i.e. capable, unlike traditional cells, of letting a part of the light through, are very useful in the agricultural field, for example in covering greenhouses without limiting their functionality and at the same time reducing their energy dependence on the electricity grid. But guaranteeing the transparency of the cells involves a series of non-trivial technological difficulties and the best semi-transparent panels at the moment are those made with inorganic materials, materials that pose difficult disposal problems.
Until now, the more ecological transparent cells based on organic materials could not provide equally good performance because in a short time their efficiency is greatly reduced. Now, by enriching organic cells with glutiadone, a well-known antioxidant used in many diets and medical therapies, American researchers have managed to greatly improve their performance and even surpass inorganic cells. Adding glutiadone allows you to maintain an efficiency of more than 80% even after 1,000 of continuous use and field tests, in greenhouse roofing, have shown that the new panels allow better vegetable growth than those in greenhouses covered with panels inorganic. Probably because, the researchers explain, glutiadone not only protects the organic materials of solar cells from degradation but also absorbs part of the infrared radiation that damages plants.
Source: Ansa
I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
