Breakthrough discovery in technology to generate solar electricity at night

In a study published in ACS Photonics on May 17, a team of experts from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) claim that this finding is the first step in creating more efficient devices that can capture energy. quantity on a much larger scale.

The researchers say infrared thermal radiation can be used to generate electricity even after the sun goes down, and this has allowed them to develop a semiconductor device called a radiant heat-radiating diode. can generate electricity from infrared light radiation.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Ned Ekins-Daukes said: ‘Using thermal imaging cameras, we see a lot of radiation at night, but only infrared wavelengths are not visible.

A radiant heat-radiating diode device, synthesized from materials found in night vision devices, can capture infrared thermal radiation and convert it into electricity.

Associate Professor Ekins-Daukes said Solar transmitted to Earth during the day will reflect back into space with the same energetic radiation as infrared light at night. The radiant heat diode device will help capture this infrared heat radiation to produce electricity.

In the same way that solar cells can generate electricity from solar energy, radiant heat diodes generate electricity by emitting infrared light into a colder environment. In both cases, the temperature difference is what helps generate electricity.

Research shows that heat-radiating diodes generate clear electricity albeit in very small amounts, 100,000 times less than that produced by solar cells.

Scientist Michael Nielsen, a member of the research team, said that with knowledge in the design and optimization of solar cells and borrowing materials from the current mid-infrared optical sensor community, scientists hope Hope to soon realize the dream created solar power At night.

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