Renewable Energy: This Food Additive Could Be the Answer to Eco-Friendly Plastic Solar Cells

A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully created an environmental friendly semi-printed plastic solar cell without toxic halogen solvents by using a food additive.

According to the study published in the journal Chemistry of Materials, instead of using halogens, the scientists replaced it with o-methylanisole (o-MA), which is known to be a flavor additive in food and is nontoxic.

Currently, halogen-containing solvents are used in manufacturing plastic solar cells. These solar cells have a high market demand due to its flexibility, transparency and affordability. The research team, lead by postdoctoral research scholar Long Ye, explored the idea of using a nontoxic solvent that would yield the same efficiency as solar cells printed from halogen solvents.

To know if o-MA is effective as a substitute solvent to halogen in creating solar cells, Ye and his team studied the morphology of the o-MA solar cells using X-ray techniques. Results showed that the o-MA solar cells feature the same morphology and crystalline features as those found in halogen-based solar cells.

To boost, the new o-MA based cell also boasts an 8.4 percent effiency rating. Its production process, which only reuires blade coating at ambient room temperature, is also compatible to the procedure done in commercial manufacturing.

"Two of the key requirements for mass producing these solar cells are that the cells can be produced in the open air environment and that the process doesn't pose health or environmental hazards," Ye said via Science Daily.

Ye also hopes that this newly discovered technology in solar energy could "pave the way for printing solar cells in ambient air."