'A dream technology': Japanese scientists might have unlocked the next generation of solar panels that stay cooler and last longer thanks to "spin-flip" material that achieves 130% energy conversion efficiency — and here's how it works
The technology could also be used in OLED displays and lighting systems
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/wayne-williams · TechRadarNews By Wayne Williams published 3 May 2026
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- Spin-flip metal complexes capture duplicated excitons produced through singlet fission
- Proof-of-concept experiments reached over 110% to about 130% quantum yield
- Solid-state integration remains necessary before use in practical solar devices
Japanese researchers have found a way to capture extra energy from sunlight using a metal-based system that reduces heat losses during conversion.
The work centers on a chemical structure known as a spin-flip emitter, built from molybdenum, that captures multiplied energy created during a process called singlet fission.
The research was carried out by Kyushu University in Japan, in collaboration with Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) Mainz in Germany. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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Energy easily ‘stolen’
Solar cells already convert sunlight into electricity, but only part of the available energy ends up usable, leaving scientists hunting for ways to squeeze more output from the same incoming light.
One long-known ceiling comes from the mismatch between photon energies and how semiconductors respond, which means some photons fail to trigger electrons while others lose excess energy as heat.
This efficiency cap, known as the Shockley–Queisser limit, has pushed researchers to explore methods that reuse lost energy instead of letting it dissipate.
“We have two main strategies to break through this limit,” said Yoichi Sasaki, Associate Professor at Kyushu University’s Faculty of Engineering. “One is to convert lower-energy infrared photons into higher energy visible photons. The other, what we explore here, is to use SF to generate two excitons from a single exciton photon.”
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