Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > New approaches for hybrid solar cells: Nanostructured germanium for portable photovoltaics and battery electrodes

Filled with suitable organic polymers the highly porous germanium nanofilm becomes a hybrid solar cell. Because the germanium nanostructure forms an inverse opal-structure, the material shimmers like opal.
CREDIT: Andreas Battenberg / TUM
Filled with suitable organic polymers the highly porous germanium nanofilm becomes a hybrid solar cell. Because the germanium nanostructure forms an inverse opal-structure, the material shimmers like opal.

CREDIT: Andreas Battenberg / TUM

Abstract:
Using a new procedure researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig Maximillians University of Munich (LMU) can now produce extremely thin and robust, yet highly porous semiconductor layers. A very promising material - for small, light-weight, flexible solar cells, for example, or electrodes improving the performance of rechargeable batteries.

Solar Technologies Go Hybrid from flipflop tv on Vimeo.



Solar Technologies Go Hybrid

A short animation on the properties and possibilities of Zintl clusters, made for the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with Focus on Novel Materials, Technical University of Munich, Germany. All 3D modeling was done in Cinema4D by Dominique Marchand Faessler.

New approaches for hybrid solar cells: Nanostructured germanium for portable photovoltaics and battery electrodes

Munich, Germany | Posted on December 7th, 2015

The coating on the wafer that Professor Thomas Fässler, chair of Inorganic Chemistry with a Focus on Novel Materials at TU Munich, holds in his hands shimmers like an opal. And it has amazing properties: It is hard as a crystal, exceptionally thin and - since it is highly porous - light as a feather.

By integrating suitable organic polymers into the pores of the material, the scientists can custom tailor the electrical properties of the ensuing hybrid material. The design not only saves space, it also creates large interface surfaces that improve overall effectiveness.

"You can imagine our raw material as a porous scaffold with a structure akin to a honeycomb. The walls comprise inorganic, semiconducting germanium, which can produce and store electric charges. Since the honeycomb walls are extremely thin, charges can flow along short paths," explains Fässler.

The new design: bottom-up instead of top-down

But, to transform brittle, hard germanium into a flexible and porous layer the researchers had to apply a few tricks. Traditionally, etching processes are used to structure the surface of germanium. However, this top-down approach is difficult to control on an atomic level. The new procedure solves this problem.

Together with his team, Fässler established a synthesis methodology to fabricate the desired structures very precisely and reproducibly. The raw material is germanium with atoms arranged in clusters of nine. Since these clusters are electrically charged, they repel each other as long as they are dissolved. Netting only takes place when the solvent is evaporated.

This can be easily achieved by applying heat of 500 °C or it can be chemically induced, by adding germanium chloride, for example. By using other chlorides like phosphorous chloride the germanium structures can be easily doped. This allows the researchers to directly adjust the properties of the resulting nanomaterials in a very targeted manner.

Tiny synthetic beads as nanotemplates

To give the germanium clusters the desired porous structure, the LMU researcher Dr. Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing has developed a methodology to enable nanostructuring: Tiny polymer beads form three-dimensional templates in an initial step.

In the next step, the germanium-cluster solution fills the gaps between the beads. As soon as stable germanium networks have formed on the surface of the tiny beads, the templates are removed by applying heat. What remains is the highly porous nanofilm.

The deployed polymer beads have a diameter of 50 to 200 nanometers and form an opal structure. The germanium scaffold that emerges on the surface acts as a negative mold - an inverse opal structure is formed. Thus, the nanolayers shimmer like an opal.

"The porous germanium alone has unique optical and electrical properties that many energy relevant applications can profit from," says LMU researcher Dr. Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing, who, in collaboration with Fässler, developed the material. "Beyond that, we can fill the pores with a wide variety of functional materials, thereby creating a broad range of novel hybrid materials."

Nanolayers pave the road to portable photovoltaic solutions

"When combined with polymers, porous germanium structures are suitable for the development of a new generation of stable, extremely light-weight and flexible solar cells that can charge mobile phones, cameras and laptops while on the road," explains the physicist Peter Müller-Buschbaum, professor of functional materials at TU Munich.

Manufacturers around the world are on the lookout for light-weight and robust materials to use in portable solar cells. To date they have used primarily organic compounds, which are sensitive and have relatively short lifetimes. Heat and light decompose the polymers and cause the performance to degrade. Here, the thin but robust germanium hybrid layers provide a real alternative.

Nanolayers for new battery systems

Next, the researchers want to use the new technology to manufacture highly porous silicon layers. The layers are currently being tested as anodes for rechargeable batteries. They could conceivably replace the graphite layers currently used in batteries to improve their capacity.

###

The research was funded by the "Solar Technologies Go Hybrid" program of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science, in the context of the excellence cluster "Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Center for Nanosciences (CeNS).

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Dr. Andreas Battenberg

49-892-891-0510

Copyright © Technical University of Munich (TUM)

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

Publication:

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers are cracking the code on solid-state batteries: Using a combination of advanced imagery and ultra-thin coatings, University of Missouri researchers are working to revolutionize solid-state battery performance February 28th, 2025

Unraveling the origin of extremely bright quantum emitters: Researchers from Osaka University have discovered the fundamental properties of single-photon emitters at an oxide/semiconductor interface, which could be crucial for scalable quantum technology February 28th, 2025

Closing the gaps — MXene-coating filters can enhance performance and reusability February 28th, 2025

Rice researchers harness gravity to create low-cost device for rapid cell analysis February 28th, 2025

Videos/Movies

New X-ray imaging technique to study the transient phases of quantum materials December 29th, 2022

Solvent study solves solar cell durability puzzle: Rice-led project could make perovskite cells ready for prime time September 23rd, 2022

Scientists prepare for the world’s smallest race: Nanocar Race II March 18th, 2022

Visualizing the invisible: New fluorescent DNA label reveals nanoscopic cancer features March 4th, 2022

Discoveries

Development of 'transparent stretchable substrate' without image distortion could revolutionize next-generation displays Overcoming: Poisson's ratio enables fully transparent, distortion-free, non-deformable display substrates February 28th, 2025

Unraveling the origin of extremely bright quantum emitters: Researchers from Osaka University have discovered the fundamental properties of single-photon emitters at an oxide/semiconductor interface, which could be crucial for scalable quantum technology February 28th, 2025

Closing the gaps — MXene-coating filters can enhance performance and reusability February 28th, 2025

Rice researchers harness gravity to create low-cost device for rapid cell analysis February 28th, 2025

Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance

Chainmail-like material could be the future of armor: First 2D mechanically interlocked polymer exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength January 17th, 2025

Enhancing transverse thermoelectric conversion performance in magnetic materials with tilted structural design: A new approach to developing practical thermoelectric technologies December 13th, 2024

FSU researchers develop new methods to generate and improve magnetism of 2D materials December 13th, 2024

New material to make next generation of electronics faster and more efficient With the increase of new technology and artificial intelligence, the demand for efficient and powerful semiconductors continues to grow November 8th, 2024

Announcements

Development of 'transparent stretchable substrate' without image distortion could revolutionize next-generation displays Overcoming: Poisson's ratio enables fully transparent, distortion-free, non-deformable display substrates February 28th, 2025

Unraveling the origin of extremely bright quantum emitters: Researchers from Osaka University have discovered the fundamental properties of single-photon emitters at an oxide/semiconductor interface, which could be crucial for scalable quantum technology February 28th, 2025

Closing the gaps — MXene-coating filters can enhance performance and reusability February 28th, 2025

Rice researchers harness gravity to create low-cost device for rapid cell analysis February 28th, 2025

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Development of 'transparent stretchable substrate' without image distortion could revolutionize next-generation displays Overcoming: Poisson's ratio enables fully transparent, distortion-free, non-deformable display substrates February 28th, 2025

Leading the charge to better batteries February 28th, 2025

Quantum interference in molecule-surface collisions February 28th, 2025

New ocelot chip makes strides in quantum computing: Based on "cat qubits," the technology provides a new way to reduce quantum errors February 28th, 2025

Energy

KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell​ November 8th, 2024

Unveiling the power of hot carriers in plasmonic nanostructures August 16th, 2024

Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024

Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024

Battery Technology/Capacitors/Generators/Piezoelectrics/Thermoelectrics/Energy storage

Leading the charge to better batteries February 28th, 2025

Researchers are cracking the code on solid-state batteries: Using a combination of advanced imagery and ultra-thin coatings, University of Missouri researchers are working to revolutionize solid-state battery performance February 28th, 2025

Enhancing transverse thermoelectric conversion performance in magnetic materials with tilted structural design: A new approach to developing practical thermoelectric technologies December 13th, 2024

Breakthrough brings body-heat powered wearable devices closer to reality December 13th, 2024

Solar/Photovoltaic

KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell​ November 8th, 2024

Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024

Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024

Shedding light on unique conduction mechanisms in a new type of perovskite oxide November 17th, 2023

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project