新西蘭奧塔哥大學的科學家們得到科研協會的巨款資助來研究下一代太陽能電子材料。
吉斯.金教授和他的科研團隊將在三年內得到793533新西蘭元（約400萬人民幣）資助，來從事他們獨特的可自我修復的生物電子材料研究。該團隊的研究目的是為太陽能領域開發一種新型的下一代生物光伏材料（OPV）。
OPV科技是以塑料為基礎的材料，因此在成本上會比傳統的硅基光伏電池要便宜的多。但是目前該技術實用性并不大，主要障礙因素在于，因為現存的材料很容易產生衰減因此導致電池的運作周期較短。
但是該團隊通過與資助企業的協助，目前正在尋找新的自我修復型電子材料想借以克服現存的衰減狀況以及其他的不利因素。
Professor Keith Gordon and his team will receive NZD$793,533 over three years for a project to develop a unique class of organic electronic materials that can repair themselves. The team’s initial target is to develop next-generation organic photovoltaics (OPV) for solar power.
OPV is a plastic-based technology that offers much cheaper energy generation than conventional silicon-based photovoltaics, says the university. The practicality of OPVs is currently hampered by factors that include limited operational lifetimes due to existing materials being prone to degrading.
Working with industry partners, the team will develop a new class of self-repairing OPV materials that overcome this and other disadvantages of the technology.