Bulk luminescent solar concentrators based on organic-inorganic CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite fluorophores

Abstract

In this paper, we report characterization and performance results of lead bromide perovskite luminescent solar concentrator. CH3NH3PbBr3 fluorophores are synthesized by sonication method and examined by their X-ray diffraction pattern and scanning electron microscopy. Synthesized perovskite shows excitonic absorption at 524 nm and PL emission peak located at 532 nm with a Stokes shift around 8 nm. Micron-sized fluorophores are dissolved in prepared solutions and uniformly embedded in PMMA host with 0.006–0.120%wt concentration. Then, Fabricated devices are cut into 50 × 30 × 5 mm cuboid shapes and placed in a mirror surrounded configuration with an attached photovoltaic cell. Fabricated device is put under standard AM1.5 illumination and the output spectrum from the concentrator is acquired. Re-absorption in the samples is also measured by variable optical path method, showing red-shifts up to 13 nm in the output spectrum. Spatially resolved photoluminescence maps and optical efficiencies are also presented for each sample. Plus, a Monte-Carlo ray tracing algorithm is developed to assist better understanding the experimental results. Stability of fabricated samples are evaluated under high intensity UV illumination, reporting efficiency reduction around 15% after 24 h. Finally, Comparing current-voltage characterization of the attached photovoltaic cell reveals optimized efficiency enhancement in the 0.04%wt sample above 65%.