The Role High-Purity Specialty Chemicals Play in Green Energy

As a manufacturer of high-purity specialty chemicals, we have the opportunity to work with companies in a variety of industries looking to use our products to improve what they do.  One such industry is green energy.  Believe it or not, high-purity specialty chemicals play a key role in producing the energy of tomorrow.

In particular, the chemicals we produce are attractive to solar cell and battery manufacturers.  The chemicals contribute to more precise manufacturing processes capable of optimizing material performance.  The better materials perform in the field, the better they are for producing and storing green energy.

Solar Cell Production

Scientists and engineers have been working on solar power generation for decades.  We are still aren’t quite where we want to be, but we are getting closer.  The key to maximizing solar is increasing photovoltaic cell efficiency.  There is a role for high-purity specialty chemicals there.

High-purity specialty chemicals are so named because they are 99.99% pure.  They are ideal for manufacturing highly sensitive solar cells because they apply at nearly every stage.  Eliminating impurities means better cleaning, etching, and doping.  Defects are minimized and cell integrity is preserved.

On the other hand, chemical contaminants interfere with manufacturing.  They also affect the finished product.  Contaminants degrade photovoltaic cell efficiency, meaning less conversion from light energy to electricity.  So it is critical that manufacturers minimize chemical contaminants.

Using High-Purity Specialty Chemicals Means Improved Cell Performance

Manufacturers can improve photovoltaic cell performance even more with the use of advanced polyelectrolytes and high-purity alumina.  The former are high-purity polymers capable of reducing resistance and boosting energy collection.  By switching to more efficient polyelectrolytes, manufacturers can produce more power with their cells.

As for high-purity alumina, it is a substrate applied to solar cells as a thin film.  It improves thermal stability and offers better insulation.  It can also be formulated to protect solar panels from moisture and UV radiation.

Battery Production and Efficiency

Solar energy is not likely to reach peak performance until adequate storage solutions are developed.  After all, the sun doesn’t shine at night.  We need batteries capable of storing excess energy generated during the daytime.  And for that, we need to increase battery efficiency.  Once again, high-purity specialty chemicals have a role to play.

Certain types of chemicals can optimize electrolyte function.  For example, an ultra-pure lithium salt can do wonders for lithium ion battery capacity and stability.  A quality manganese sulfate monohydrate can both enhance energy density and increase a battery’s lifespan.

Manufacturers also look to high-purity materials to manufacture better anodes and cathodes.  Better chemicals mean less volume expansion during cycling.  Better chemicals contribute to improving internal structural integrity.

It All Has to Be Cost Effective

Despite how much manufacturers can accomplish with high-purity specialty chemicals, there is an undercurrent to all of this: it needs to be cost effective.  Manufacturers can do a lot of advanced things with solar cells and batteries already.  They choose not to because it is too expensive.  Bringing the cost down is an important part of making solar energy the norm.

The market for high-purity specialty chemicals is only expected to grow in future years.  No one should be surprised. As technology moves forward, manufacturers need more access to pure chemicals capable of helping them turn revolutionary designs into real equipment and components.

Here at Trecora, we will continue doing all in part by supplying manufacturers with the high-purity specialty chemicals they need.  Whether it is solar energy, healthcare, or manufacturing the consumer goods we all rely on, we plan to make sure our customers have the best chemicals possible.