Mahshid Ahmadi

Scientists at the Division of Energy's Oak Ridge National Research Laboratory as well as the University of Tennessee are automating the search for brand-new materials to advance solar energy technologies.

Led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory as well as the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a study of a solar-energy product with a bright future revealed a way to reduce phonons, the waves that move heat. The discovery could enhance novel hot-carrier solar cells, which convert sunshine to electrical energy much more effectively than conventional solar cells by harnessing photogenerated fee providers before they lose energy to heat.