BRIN Develops Environmentally Friendly And More Efficient Solar Cells

Illustration: Photo: Doc. ANTARA

JAKARTA - Research Center for Electronic Research, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Yuliar Firdaus developed organic solar cell research or organic solar cell (OSC) which is claimed to be more environmentally friendly and can be mass produced.

"The previous study that I have done shows that OSC efficiency can penetrate the theoretical limit of more than 22 percent if surface recombination can be suppressed and charge mobility continues to be increased," Yuliar said as quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, September 28.

Yuliar explained that OSC is a new generation of solar cells that use organic materials such as donor polymers and small molecular acceptors to absorb light and produce electricity.

He mentioned that the excess OSC is more flexible and light, so it can be installed anywhere.

In addition, the production process is simpler and cheaper, and can even use printing techniques.

"This technology has grown rapidly, from the era of using poly (3-hectiophene)-fullerene with efficiency of 3'7 percent. So far, it has reached more than 20 percent thanks to the presence of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) and new polymer donors," he explained.

In addition, Yuliar continued, the color and transparency level of these solar cells can be arranged, making them suitable for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and portable devices.

In contrast to the previous generation of solar cells, he said, namely silicon-based conventional cell diesel which has rigid, severe, and requires a high-temperature manufacturing process, OSC can be processed using solution-processed techniques, light, flexible, and can be applied to various surfaces, including arch or plastic glass.

However, Yuliar revealed that there are a number of obstacles in producing OSC, such as long-term stability, scaling-up challenges to larger sizes without reducing performance, as well as the availability of cheap, environmentally friendly, and easy-to-production interlayer materials.

Maka dari itu, ia berharap OSC dapat dikembangkan menjadi teknologi energi terbarukan yang efisien, stabil, murah, dan fleksibel.

Dengan riset interlayer, rekayasa bahan penyerap, dan proses rekayasa untuk scale up, teknologi ini dapat diproduksi massal di Indonesia, diaplikasikan dalam bangunan, perangkat elektronik, maupun infrastruktur, serta mendukung kemandirian energi nasional.

"Untuk itu diharapkan dukungan menyeluruh dari segi fasilitas dan pendanaan dari BRIN dan pemerintah," tutur Yuliar.

Therefore, he hopes that OSC can be developed into efficient, stable, cheap, and flexible renewable energy technology.

With interlayer research, the engineering of absorbing materials, and engineering processes for scale ups, this technology can be mass produced in Indonesia, applied in buildings, electronic devices, and infrastructure, as well as supporting national energy independence.

"Therefore, it is hoped that comprehensive support in terms of facilities and funding from BRIN and the government," said Yuliar.