Green Leaf - a source of inspiration for solar cells

The synthetic molecule that simulates chlorophyll in plants may someday be the foundation for high-performance solar cells, said University of Sydney professor Max Crossley.

For millions of years, nature has evolved the process of absorbing light and transformed it into energy very efficiently. We are trying to imitate aspects of this natural photosynthesis, " he said.

The dense chlorophyll molecules in the leaves are responsible for converting the light energy into electricity and then into the energy. Professor Crossley's team created the synthetic form of chlorophyll that could handle the early stages of photosynthesis - turning photosynthesis into electricity. As in nature, when stacked in thick, many artificial chlorophyll molecules work together to efficiently absorb photons.

Researchers using this synthetic chlorophyll chain produce the first organic solar cell, which is expected to deliver much higher energy efficiency than current technology. Leaves convert light into electricity to yield about 30-40% of the 12% of solar cells using silicon crystals.

N.MINH