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Genetically engineered virus doubles efficiency of solar cells

MIT team genetically engineered a quantum virus for efficient energy transport.

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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) have developed a genetically engineered virus that could help solar cells generate energy with nearly double efficiency.

Plants undergo photosynthesis where they absorb sunlight and convert it into solar energy with almost 100 percent efficiency i.e almost no energy goes to waste. When compared to solar panels, even the best can only convert about 44 percent of the absorbed light into usable energy, one reason why solar energy doesn't meet the world's energy demands. 

One way plants achieve this efficiency is by using a concept of quantum mechanics called ‘quantum weirdness’ that allows a particle to exist in more than one place at a single instant of time. When a photon(quantum of light) hits a plant’s special light-sensing chromatophore, it releases a quantum particle of energy called an 'exciton'. The nearly hundred percent efficiency of plants lies in the path chosen by this exciton to reach the reaction centre where the energy is harnessed. Thanks to quantum physics, no energy is lost in the process.

MIT researchers have been able to take advantage of this quantum weirdness by changing viruses' DNA, which improved the speed of excitons by more than 200 percent and travelled at double the speed of those in existing solar cells, thus resulting in solar panels that could transmit energy with unprecedented efficiency, according to a proof-of-concept study published this week in Nature Materials. So far, these engineered viruses collect and transport energy from incoming light, but do not yet harness it to produce their own electricity(as in solar cells). 

This is a big step for future research in understanding quantum mechanics and dealing with the energy crises by moving to renewable energy resources like solar energy. The research has opened the doors to creating catalysts for chemical reactions driven by light and more efficient electronics.

Read more here.

 

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