TAGS: Polymer Reinforcement Sustainability / Natural Solutions
A group of researchers from the Institute of Carbochemistry (ICB) of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has achieved significant progress in the development of more efficient and sustainable devices.
It is a special combination of nanomaterials that creates a product capable of transforming light into electricity and vice versa much faster than conventional materials. The work has been published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.
Improving Efficiency of Optoelectronic Devices
This discovery has important implications for various technological applications, such as the manufacture of flexible displays, portable electronic devices, and high-efficiency electronic paper.
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We have achieved a hybrid of two nanomaterials: a conductive polymer called polythiophene, in the form of 1D nanoparticles; and a 2D nanomaterial derived from graphene, graphene oxide. The unique properties it presents are very promising for improving the efficiency of optoelectronic devices such as electronic device displays and solar panels, among others”, says Wolfgang Maser, ICB researcher in charge of the project.
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We have found that the synthesis strategy used to create the new material allows the polymer to adopt a special structure in the form of water-dispersible nanoparticles, which favors intimate contact with the graphene oxide sheets," adds Maser. This contact, in turn, generates changes in the electrical behavior of the material and makes it more electrically efficient.
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We were very interested in polythiophene because it has very advantageous optical, electrical, and electrochromic properties. When illuminated, it creates electricity and when it receives electricity, it produces light, but it does so very slowly”, adds Ana Benito, researcher, and leader, together with Maser, of the ICB's Carbon Nanostructures and Nanotechnology Group (G-CNN).
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Our idea was to modify polythiophene by converting it into small nanometer spheres, which we call nanoparticles, which easily bind to graphene oxide. In addition, this methodology made it possible to work in an aqueous medium, which is very difficult with this type of polymer”, highlights Benito, who acknowledges that at first, they did not observe any change in the electronic properties of the material. “
However, upon further analysis, we found that the new material makes electricity travel so fast that we couldn't detect it with normal procedures. The collaboration with researchers from the universities of Murcia, Cartagena and Zaragoza confirmed for us the relevance of what we had found”, he underlines.
Strategy for Sustainable Energy Generation
The new hybrid material is also sustainable because the synthesis process used to create it uses water as a solvent instead of toxic chemicals, unlike other procedures currently used. This could help reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing electronic devices. Furthermore, this synthesis strategy can be extended to other types of conductive polymers, with implications for a variety of technological applications. The discovery is therefore of relevance for the sustainable design of new structures of high-performance optoelectronic devices.
The five researchers that make up the G-CNN have specialized in recent years in creating highly functional and environmentally sustainable nanomaterials. These nanomaterials can be used for a large number of applications, ranging from processes related to obtaining clean energy -such as the production of green hydrogen, catalysis, or energy storage- to heritage conservation, the creation of (bio)sensors or the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
These investigations are carried out at the ICB, a CSIC center located in Zaragoza that is an international reference in the search for answers to the great current social and technological challenges, such as sustainable energy generation, the fight against climate change and pollution, as well as the development of nanomaterials, nanotechnology, and new sustainable sensors.
According to Eduardo Colom, the main author of the article and a G-CNN researcher, "
these devices would be more efficient, lighter, flexible and sustainable compared to current ones, since they would be based on materials that are friendly to the environment and with excellent electrical properties." In addition, this development could also improve the efficiency of organic solar cells, which would allow more solar energy to be captured more efficiently and economically.
Colom adds, “
Thanks to this new advance, we would be talking about the possibility of manufacturing more energy efficient devices, that is, with lower energy consumption and quick response. All this brings us closer to a future with more sustainable and advanced technology”.
This research group has spent years studying graphene oxide, a nanomaterial derived from graphene, with unique properties, dispersible in water and easy to produce. "
We believed that creating a hybrid material between the two could solve this problem," says Benito.
Source: Higher Council for Scientific Research