Revolutionizing Solar Cells with Exciton Fission Breakthrough.
Researchers have discovered the mechanism of exciton fission, a process found in materials like pentacene, which could increase solar-to-electricity efficiency by one-third, potentially revolutionizing photovoltaic technology. The team used time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to observe the dynamics of electrons on the femtosecond time scale, which enabled them to capture images of the fleeting excited electrons for the first time. Knowing the mechanism of exciton fission is essential to using it for photovoltaic applications, and a silicon solar cell enhanced with an excitation-doubling material could boost the solar-to-electricity efficiency by one-third.