SEOUL, Mar 16, 2006 -- AsiaPulse

 

South Korean scientists on Thursday announced the creation of a commercially viable film for solar fuel cells that is less brittle and cheaper to make than current products that rely on silicon wafers.

The organic composite material made by "blending" fullerene and poly (3-hexylthiophene), or P3HT, has the advantage of being light and transparent. It can also be applied to curved surfaces due to its flexible nature

Solar fuel cells absorb sunlight and convert this into electrical currents that can heat homes and operate appliances.

The Ministry of Science and technology and the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) that took part in the development work, said the new material was proven in tests to have a power conversion efficiency rate of about 5 per cent. This is on par with existing solar panels.

"The ability to convert 5 per cent of the solar energy into electricity makes it immediately viable for commercial use," said Ree Moon-hor, PAL's deputy director.

He said the conversion efficiency rate of solar power is expected to be raised to around 10 per cent within five years.

The professor of chemistry, who co-authored a paper on the subject published in the March issue of Nature Materials, said that while local companies have yet to warm to the new material, foreign companies have already expressed interest. Merck Chemicals, in particular, joined the project from the initial stage, he said. The company is a leading parts supplier for South Korean manufacturers of liquid crystal displays.

The new material is transparent and like a film, meaning it can can be applied to office windows, cars and even mobile phones. It can also be used extensively for satellites that require lightweight materials in their solar panels.

This separates it from the kind of inorganic, solar fuel-cell panels that adorn rooftops, which tend to break easily if bent. They are also heavy, non-transparent and expensive to make as they require a similar manufacturing process to semiconductors.

Creators of the composite said international patents have been acquired, and work is being done to enhance the film's durability to withstand prolonged exposure to the elements.

Besides PAL, Kim Young-kyoo of Imperial College London led the discovery, along with researchers from South Korea's Pusan National University.

The government, meanwhile, said the development of the new material was made possible with the aid of tests using the state-run light source accelerator at Pohang University of Science and Technology.

(Yonhap)

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