Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Research → Discoveries

Graphene can multiply light, demonstrating new immense energy potential

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
February 25, 2013
in Discoveries, Physics

We’ve never shun away from praising the almost miraculous properties of graphene, the wonder material set to become even more paradigm shifting than plastic. Graphene has found been found to have the potential to revolutionize a myriad of scientific fields, from genetics, to electronics, to nanotech, to security, to just about anything you could think of. The energy sector, however, might be one of the most gifted out of all by graphene’s Midas touch.

graphene Recent findings by researchers at the Institute of Photonic Science (ICFO), in collaboration with other scientists from Universities in Germany, USA and Spain, have found that graphene is capable of converting a single photon that it absorbs into multiple electrons that could drive electric current. The implications of these findings are enormous, as it would make graphene as the most viable solution for light detection and harvesting applications.

Let’s talk a bit about solar cells, since these are the first to come to mind for most of us. It’s rather unfortunate that solar cells today are so inefficient, where typically the materials employed in their fabrication convert one electron for every absorbed photon. Now with graphene, however, multiple excited electrons can be produced from one single photon, which translates in a significant electrical signal amplification. Solar cells made out of graphene would thus be able to harvest light energy from the full solar spectrum with lower loss.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers devised an experiment in which a known number of photons were emitted with different energies or colors onto a monolayer of graphene.

“We have seen that high energy photons (e.g. violet) are converted into a larger number of excited electrons than low energy photons (e.g. infrared). The observed relation between the photon energy and the number of generated excited electrons shows that graphene converts light into electricity with very high efficiency. Even though it was already speculated that graphene holds potential for light-to-electricity conversion, it now turns out that it is even more suitable than expected!” explains Tielrooij, researcher at ICFO.

There are some issues to tackle before this particular application of graphene can be made truly viable. Scientists have found that graphene has a rather low absorption, which keeps it from being useful for end-user commercial applications – for now, that is. Expect semiconductor technology to be taken afoot by graphene in merely a decade from now. Numerous governments and universities think so, as well, which is why most recently the European Commission awarded  two billion euros ($2.68 billion) in funding – the largest research grant in official, recorded history – for the reserach into the new wondermaterial graphene and the neurochemistry of the human brain.

“It was known that graphene is able to absorb a very large spectrum of light colors. However now we know that once the material has absorbed light, the energy conversion efficiency is very high. Our next challenge will be to find ways of extracting the electrical current and enhance the absorption of graphene. Then we will be able to design graphene devices that detect light more efficiently and could potentially even lead to more efficient solar cells.” concludes Frank Koppens, group leader at ICFO.

Findings were reported in the journal Nature Physics. Image source: New Scientist

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. The largest stars in the Universe: a story of immense proportions
  2. Graphene shows potential as anti-cancer agent
  3. Penta-graphene is stronger and better than graphene – we only need to make it, now
  4. National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Solar Has The Most Potential Of Any Renewable Energy Source
  5. Graphene protective coatings could improve hard disk data storage potential ten-fold
Tags: graphenematerial sciencesolar cell

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW