Effect of organic cation composition and halogen atom type on 2D-layered organic–inorganic hybrids for luminescent solar concentrator

Abstract

Organic–Inorganic hybrids with tunable photoluminescence, high efficiency, and high thermal stability are promising luminophores for luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). The generation of 2D-layered organic–inorganic hybrids with an intense purplish blue to green fluorescence emission is a topic of intense current interest. In this study, we present the synthesis and investigate the six new derivatives of layered perovskites: UV sensitizer (C4H9NH3)2PbX4 and (C6H5(CH2)2NH3)2PbX4 with X = Cl, Br and I, in order to produce LSCs. One of the most problematic loss mechanisms in the LSCs is the reabsorption of the emitted light from the luminophores. The 2D- layered organic–inorganic hybrids offer a solution due to their tunable absorption and emission wavelength, through the variation of organic cation and halogen atoms, and the apparent large Stokes shift resulting in the improvement of the optical properties of LSCs. Also, the LSC performance was evaluated by a thorough optical and photovoltaic characterization. The obtained results reveal that the investigation of the appropriate organic cation and suitable halogen atom in the synthesized 2D- layered hybrids, as well as the concentration of the hybrids in the LSCs, are necessary to find a suitable condition for an effective LSC. It was found that (C4H9NH3)2PbBr4-layered hybrid, with 1.6 wt% layered hybrid concentration in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), leads to the highest efficiency with the least reabsorption effect in the LSC. The efficiency of the coated Si PV cell is increased by about 50%, compared to an uncoated cell.