We’ll harness the power of the sun!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Plants turn sunlight into energy – with incredible efficiency – using ELECTRONS. That’s photosynthesis. Now, scientists want to copy this process for better solar panels.
Enter Leander Eernst and team from the Center for Nanosystems Chemistry.
They built light-sensitive molecules that act like an electron staircase. These molecules stack in layers, guiding electrons from one step to the next. When light hits them, electrons hop along with over ninety-five percent efficacy. Almost no energy is lost as they move.
This could lead to smarter, more efficient solar tech inspired by nature.
Gee… Mother Earth really is the ultimate engineer! And we, her humble grad students…
Reference: Ernst, L., Song, H., Kim, D., & Würthner, F. (2025). Photoinduced stepwise charge hopping in π-stacked perylene bisimide donor–bridge–acceptor arrays. Nature Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-025-01770-7