Catenaa, Wednesday, October 15, 2025- Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered a hidden quantum mechanism in an organic semiconductor that could dramatically transform solar energy technology.
The breakthrough, detailed in Nature Materials, reveals that a light-harvesting behavior once believed to exist only in inorganic materials also thrives in an organic compound known as P3TTM.
The research team, led by Professors Hugo Bronstein and Sir Richard Friend, found that unpaired electrons in P3TTM molecules interact in a pattern similar to the Mott-Hubbard effect, a fundamental quantum phenomenon.
When light strikes the material, these electrons align and jump between neighboring molecules, creating electrical charges that can be extracted with near-total efficiency.
Unlike conventional solar cells that require two different materials to generate electricity, the Cambridge team’s design converts photons into current within a single organic layer.
Early tests show nearly every photon absorbed produces a usable charge, marking a major advance in light-to-electricity conversion.
The finding could lead to lightweight, low-cost solar panels and reshape future electronic and photovoltaic design.
The discovery also honors physicist Sir Nevill Mott, whose theories on electron behavior laid the foundation for modern semiconductor physics.
