Light, flexible and radiation-resistant: Organic solar cells for space
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Jul-2025 08:10 ET (10-Jul-2025 12:10 GMT/UTC)
Radiation testing suggests that solar cells made from carbon-based, or organic, materials could outperform conventional silicon and gallium arsenide for generating electricity in the final frontier, a study from the University of Michigan suggests.
Whitacre College professor Changzhi Li earned the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) prestigious £350,000 A F Harvey Engineering Research Prize.
Researchers have developed a new process that uses microwave flow reaction and recyclable solid catalysts to efficiently hydrolyze polysaccharides into simple sugars. The developed device utilizes a continuous-flow hydrolysis process, where cellobiose is passed through a sulfonated carbon catalyst that is heated using microwaves, resulting in the efficient conversion of cellobiose to glucose.