Solar cells and photocathodes made of copper oxide could theoretically attain high efficiencies for solar energy conversion. In practice, however, large losses occur. Now, a team at the HZB has been able to use a sophisticated femtosecond laser experiment to determine where these losses take place—not so much at the interfaces, but instead, far more in the interior of the crystalline material. These results provide indications on how to improve copper oxide and other metal oxides for applications such as energy materials.
* This article was originally published here
