The three and a half year project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will investigate a number of new and novel solar cell designs, in an attempt to produce a more efficient system for generating green energy.
The cells will be made from both organic polymeric carbon-based materials and small particles of inorganic semiconductors.
Most designs are expected to draw on nanotechnology, with researchers planning to use so-called PbS nanorods - small cylinders of lead sulphide that are around 100 times smaller than a human hair.
Academics will also use semiconductor quantum dots - extremely small particles measuring around one ten-millionth of an inch - to absorb light.
sciencedaily
