Abstract
In the last decade, numerous research efforts have been focused on the use of wavelength-converting materials to extend the spectral response of existing solar cell technologies. In this regard, lanthanide-based nanophosphors are promising candidates with their emissions ranging from the UV to near-infrared. Nevertheless, new challenges are raised for the engineering, design, and synthesis of lanthanide phosphors with a high absorption cross section to match the wavelengths of solar cells spectral sensitivity. One creative approach involves the coordination of organic ligands at the nanophosphors surface to broaden their excitation wavelength range and yield ultrabright highly efficient hybrid phosphors. Herein, the state-of-the-art of the sensitization of inorganic lanthanide-based phosphors with organic antennas that could be used to enhance the performance of a-Si and c-Si solar cells through downshifting, upconversion, and downconversion mechanisms is briefly reviewed.
Highlights
In the case of metal-organic framework structures based on a metal ion and an organic ligand, it is possible to design a wide variety of structures for applications from catalysis to photoluminescence
The use of ligands that exhibit an antenna effect when coordinated to a lanthanide ion is of special interest since they can be used to engineer excitation spectra of these hybrid materials and optimize them for light harvesting over broader wavelength ranges with emission at the wavelength at which the chosen lanthanide ion emits
This short review, without pretending to be exhaustive, is focused on the work recently reported on hybrid materials, and in particular on those based on lanthanides, designed for UV, Vis, and IR light harvesting and light emission at wavelengths that can be efficiently processed by commonly available solar cells
Summary
The hybridization of organic/inorganic materials has received increasing attention from the materials science community because of the possibility of combining the low cost and processing versatility of organic materials with the chemical and physical stability of the inorganic counterparts as well as facilitating a design tool for the modification of the physical and chemical characteristics of these materials. The inorganic component could be as simple as a metal ion all the way through a nanostructured layered particle on one side, while the organic component could be a molecular ligand or a macromolecular complex. in the case of metal-organic framework structures based on a metal ion and an organic ligand, it is possible to design a wide variety of structures for applications from catalysis to photoluminescence. Other hybrid nanomaterials involve an inorganic nanoparticle and an organic ligand to control the photoresponsive characteristics of these nanosystems. This is the case of semiconductor nanocrystals and conjugated polymers used as an alternative for all-organic or all-inorganic solar cells by complementing the light absorption by the organic components with the higher carrier mobility and stability of the inorganic nanocrystals.8–10 This approach is used to impact the performance of other conventional devices used in electronics and photonics by a proper choice of hybrid components as in the case of quantum dot light emitting devices. It is possible to obtain high efficiency, narrow emission peaks leading to pure colors and control of the emitted light wavelength through size and/or chemical composition of the quantum dots.11 Another trend in hybrid materials is that based on lanthanide ions or lanthanide-doped nanostructured particles. This short review, without pretending to be exhaustive, is focused on the work recently reported on hybrid materials, and in particular on those based on lanthanides, designed for UV, Vis, and IR light harvesting and light emission at wavelengths that can be efficiently processed by commonly available solar cells
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