Organic solar cells may be a step closer to market because of measurements taken at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where a team of scientists has developed a better fundamental understanding of how to optimize the cells’ performance, according to the article, “Photoexcitation Dynamics in Films of C₆₀ and Zn-Phthalocyanine with a Layered Nanostructure,” published Feb. 15, 2012 by the American Physical Society, and written by Paul A. Lane, Paul D. Cunningham, Joseph S. Melinger, and Gary P. Kushto of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., and Okan Esenturk and Edwin J. Heilweil of NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Prototype solar cells made of organic materials currently lag far behind conventional silicon-based photovoltaic cells in terms of electricity output. But if even reasonably efficient organic cells can be developed, they would have distinct advantages of their own: They would cost far less to produce than conventional cells, could cover larger areas, and conceivably could be recycled far more easily.

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