UNSW researchers are the first in the world to use magnetic fields to reveal the mystery of how light particles split - which could transform the future of renewable energy.
Scientists are closer to giving the next generation of solar cells a powerful boost by integrating a process that could make the technology more efficient by breaking particles of light - photons - into small chunks.
In a study published today in Nature Chemistry, researchers unravel the scientific understanding of what happens when light particles split - a process called singlet fission - and its underlying workings.
Lead researcher Professor Tim Schmidt from UNSW Sydney's School of Chemistry has studied singlet fission for more than a decade. He says the process could be invoked and applied to improve existing silicon solar cell technologies.
"Today's solar cells work by absorbing photons which are then sucked away to the electrodes to do the work," Prof. Schmidt says.
"But as part of this process, a lot of this light is lost as heat. Which is why solar panels don't run at full efficiency."
