Efficient Luminescent Solar Concentrators Research Articles

Highly Efficient Luminescent Solar Concentrators Based on BODIPY Derivatives

AbstractThree new chromophores based on difluoroborondipyrromethene dyes (Bodipy‐1, Bodipy‐2, and Bodipy‐3) are used as precursors to prepare luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) based on poly‐acrylate, following a thermally activated polymerization involving lauryl methacrylate as monomer, ethyl glycol dimethacrylate as cross‐linking agent, and lauroyl peroxide as initiator. The new dyes exhibit typical BODIPY absorption and emission properties in dichloromethane fluid solution, assigned to the lower‐lying singlet π–π∗ level, which in the case of Bodipy‐2 and Bodipy‐3, both containing diamino‐substituted styryl subunits in their structure, has a strong charge transfer contribution. The LSCs obtained starting from each of the three Bodipys are interfaced to silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells, and the PV light‐to‐energy conversion efficiencies ηopt for the three systems are calculated. The results yield ηopt of 4.53% for LSC‐Bodipy‐1, 5.26% for LSC‐Bodipy‐2, and 8.23% for LSC‐Bodipy‐3. The optical efficiency for LSC‐Bodipy‐3 is a remarkable value among the LSC based on organic dyes.

Synergistic engineering of the Stokes shift for highly efficient and stable quasi-2D perovskite luminescent solar concentrators

Three new quasi-2D perovskite/PVDF composite films with a high PLQY and large Stokes shift are obtained, PEA2MAx−1PbxBr3x+1/PVDF (x = 2, 3, 4) (PMx−1PF). Among them, the LSC based on PM2PF exhibits a remarkable ηext of up to 4.9%.

Highly efficient and stable tandem luminescent solar concentrators based on carbon dots and CuInSe2-xSx/ZnS quantum dots.

Semi-transparent large-area luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have been considered an essential part of zero-energy or low-energy consuming buildings in the future. Inorganic colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are promising candidates for LSCs due to the advantages of a tunable bandgap, engineered large Stokes shift, and relatively high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield. However, LSCs that are fabricated using colloidal quantum dots exhibited an inferior stability under long-term illumination, demanding great efforts to explore the highly stable LSCs. Herein, we fabricated large-area (∼100 cm2) tandem LSCs based on highly stable carbon dots (CDs) and highly luminescent near-infrared emitting CuInSe2-xSx/ZnS (CuInSeS/ZnS) QDs. Coupled with a Si diode as a reference, the power conversion efficiency of the corresponding tandem (dimensions: 10 × 10 × 0.5 cm3) and single LSCs (dimensions: 10 × 10 × 0.3 cm3) based on CuInSeS/ZnS QDs under one sun illumination are 0.46% and 0.5%, respectively. For single CuInSeS/ZnS QD based LSCs at a low concentration (0.039 wt%), external and internal quantum efficiencies reach up to 2.87% and 36.37%, respectively. After UV illumination for 8 h, bottom LSCs based on CuInSeS/ZnS QDs retain 93.22% of the initial PL emission, which is higher than that of LSCs (∼80%) without the CD protection. The highly efficient and stable tandem LSCs employing green CDs and NIR CuInSeS/ZnS QDs as PL emitters pave the way for the realization of large area building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) devices.

Highly efficient luminescent solar concentrators based on selective laser-induced crystallization in CsPbBrxCl3−x (x = 0–3) doped glass

The optical conversion layer with CsPbBrxCl3 − x (x = 0 − 3) NCs linear array was prepared in the precursor glass by femtosecond laser direct writing.

Constructing highly efficient and ultra-stable (against Temperature, Humidity and Sunlight) luminescent solar concentrators by using dendritic CsPbBr3@SiO2 particles

Conventional perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) suffer long-term stability, further limiting practical application of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). In this work, novel dendritic CsPbBr3@SiO2 particles with bright solid-state green light emission and 46 % of photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) have first been synthesized via one-step solid-phase calcination method. The dendritic CsPbBr3@SiO2 particles have then been used as fluorescent material for construction of LSCs along with using organosilicon polymers with better compatibility as waveguide materials. Single-layer thin film LSCs and overall curing LSCs are easily prepared by the casting and curing method, exhibiting high external optical efficiency (ηopt) of 7.88 % and 10.92 %, respectively. The maximum internal quantum efficiency (ηint) of thin film LSCs and overall curing LSCs reach 45.09 % and 44.07 %, respectively, while their maximum external quantum efficiency (ηext) of 29.42 % and 34.07 % are obtained, respectively. Importantly, both types of LSCs show excellent stability, maintaining above 92 % of the initial ηopt under high-relative-humidity (RH = 90 %), high-temperature (60 °C) and sunlight exposure conditions for two weeks or room temperature environment for twenty weeks. Moreover, both types of LSCs at optimal conditions have good transparency (>40 % over 515 nm of light wavelength). Otherwise, both types of LSCs have higher ηopt than that of the previous related work.

Carbon nanodot with highly localized excitonic emission for efficient luminescent solar concentrator

Abstract Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) are attractive for the easy operation and high compatibility with building integrated photovoltaics due to their low cost, large-scale and applicability. However, underutilized sunlight in visible wavelengths often impedes the advance of LSCs. Here, we demonstrate an orange-emitting carbon nanodots-based LSC (O-CDs) with excitation concentrated in the visible wavelengths. The orange-emitting carbon nanodots (O-CDs) with highly localized excitonic emission are prepared via atomic condensation of doped pyrrolic nitrogen, delivering a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 80 % and a suitable Stokes shift with absorption spectrum situated in the visible region. The O-CDs are embedded in polyvinylpyrrolidone to obtain a highly transparent, stable and environmentally friendly O-CDs-based LSC. Thanks to efficient utilization of solar radiation in visible areas and well match between the emission of O-CDs and the response bands of photovoltaic cells, the O-CDs-based LSC reveals an optical conversion efficiency of 5.17 %, superior to that of most carbon nanodots-based LSCs. These results provide an effective strategy to develop carbon-based luminescent concentrated materials for architectural integrated photovoltaic technology.

Design of more efficient luminescent solar concentrators by using peripherally dye-doped stacked optical fibers.

Ways of improving the optical efficiency of luminescent solar concentrators based on multiple poly(methyl methacrylate) plastic optical fibers peripherally doped with two promising types of dyes are analyzed by means of a Monte-Carlo computational model developed by us. By comparing the performance of optical fibers doped with lumogen red and lumogen yellow, or combinations of them at several concentrations, this work clarifies how to achieve a better compromise between the trapping efficiency of the sunlight and the reabsorption of the light emitted by the mixture in stacked optical fibers connected to a photovoltaic solar cell.

Bright and multicolor emissive carbon dots/organosilicon composite for highly efficient tandem luminescent solar concentrators

Carbon dots (CDs) hold great promise for effective alternatives to traditional luminescent materials in the field of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) due to their low cost, eco-friendly and stability. How to improve the performance of CDs based LSCs is the research focus at present. Herein, a novel CDs/organosilicon composite (SiCDs) with tunable solid-state fluorescence and photoluminescence quantum yield from 21% to 56% is reported to cope with the limitation of aggregation-caused quenching of CDs on the performance improvement of LSCs. The emission redshift mechanism of SiCDs have been explored in detail. Furthermore, the UV absorption of SiCDs is in wide range and gradual increase in intensity as the emission red shifted from blue to orange. The SiCDs are further designed to construct a series of transparent single-layer and tandem LSCs with polydimethylsiloxane as waveguide material, and the tandem LSC based on blue and yellow emission SiCDs achieve a finally external optical efficiency of 7.10%.

Highly efficient sandwich design thin film luminescent solar concentrators based on blue and green emissive MAPbBr3 perovskites nanostructures

This study deals with the optimally designed blue and green emissive MAPbBr3 perovskite nanostructures (PNSs). Later PNSs were utilized as fluorescent material in a sandwich-design thin film luminescent solar concentrator (SD-TLSC). The fabricated SD-TLSC exhibits high performance with an impressive optical efficiency of 5.75% and a high average visible transmission (AVT) of 85.7%, which is the two-fold enhancement of the conventional single thin film LSC configuration. The high performance of the SD-TLC is induced by effective solar radiation absorption in the entire wavelength ranges, which is attributed to its unique morphology that exhibit different PL emission. These ground-breaking results pave the way for the potential practical use of perovskite-based SD-TLSC as solar windows, marking a major advancement in the field of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV).

Dual- luminophore efficient luminescent solar concentrator fabricated by low-cost 3D printing

Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs), as cost-effective optical devices for photon concentration, have been showing promising applications in photovoltaic systems. Recently, LSCs are being fabricated through different methods to improve their performance and reduce the cost of fabrication. One of the most common and traditional methods of LSC fabrication is Free Radical Polymerization. In which free radicals are formed through thermal decomposition or photolysis of radical initiators. This research work introduces 3D printed LSCs based on CsPbBr3/Cs4PbBr6 Perovskite Nanocrystals (NCs) and an organic Rhodamine b luminophore mixtures. Nowadays, 3D printing technology has a wide variety of applications in industry, medicine, education, etc. 3D printing technique due to the cheap and accessible raw materials is proved to be a facile and cost-effective method to fabricate LSCs. CsPbBr3/Cs4PbBr6 Perovskites were synthesized using a modified reverse microemulsion method. Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) granules with a luminophore concentration of 0.001 wt% were used to fabricate 3D Printer filament as a polymer for LSC fabrication. XRD, FE-SEM, and EDS analysis were applied to synthesized Perovskites to prove formation of CsPbBr3/Cs4PbBr6 Perovskites. Absorption and Photoluminescence spectrum of used luminophores in LSCs were investigated. Re-absorption effect and I–V plots of prepared LSCs were studied. The I–V plot of the attached solar cell to pristine PLA and luminophore dispersed LSCs shows that the solar cell attached to the dual-luminophore LSC is approximately 122% more efficient than the one attached to pristine PLA LSC.

Engineering high-emissive silicon-doped carbon nanodots towards efficient large-area luminescent solar concentrators

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) are devices that can collect sunlight from a large area, concentrating it at the borders of the slab, to achieve efficient photovoltaic conversion when small area solar cells are placed at their edges, realizing building-integrated photovoltaics. Efficient luminophores in terms of high luminescence quantum yield are needed to obtain high-performance LSCs. A key point is the ability to engineer the Stokes shift (i.e. the difference between the maximum of the absorption and emission spectra), to minimize reabsorption processes. In this work, we report novel silicon-doped carbon nanodots (Si-CDs) with an ultrahigh quantum yield (QY) up to 92.3% by a simple hydrothermal method. Thin-film structured LSCs (5 × 5 × 0.2 cm3) with different concentrations of Si-CDs are prepared by dispersing the Si-CDs into polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) matrix, and the optimal power conversion efficiency (PCE) of LSCs can be as high as 4.36%, which is nearly 2.5 times higher than that prepared with silicon-undoped CDs. This Si-CDs/PVP film LSC has a high QY of 80.5%. A large-area LSC (15 × 15 cm2) is also successfully fabricated, which possesses a PCE of 2.06% under natural sunlight irradiation (35 mW·cm−2), one of the best reported values for similar size LSCs. The efficient Si-CDs as luminescent substances for high-efficiency large-area LSCs will further give an impetus to the practical exploitation of LSCs.

Construction of highly efficient carbon dots-based polymer photonic luminescent solar concentrators with sandwich structure

The enhancement of photoluminescence (PL) emission and waveguide play a key role in improving the optical efficiency of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). In this work, to boosting PL emission and waveguide simultaneously, one photonic crystal (PC) structure (crystalline colloid arrays (CCAs)) was introduced into carbon dots (CDs)-based polymer LSCs. A sandwich-structured CDs-based polymer photonic LSC, comprising glass/CDs-based polymer PC film/glass, was created. First, CDs-based colloidal crystal suspensions were prepared by co-assembly of monodispersed p(MMA-NIPAm) colloids and multicolor-emitting CDs in HEMA monomer induced by the evaporation-driven assembly. The obtained suspensions not only had uniform PL and structural colors, but showed enhanced PL emission. Second, the above suspensions were sandwiched between two glass sheets and finally a photonic polymer LSC with sandwiched structure (25 × 25 × 1.8 mm3) were formed via one-step photopolymerization technique. Remarkably, the optimal CDs-based polymer photonic LSCs with sandwiched structure not only had high transparence at visible range (>60%), but exhibited PL emission enhancement (at least 2 times). Furthermore, the maximum external optical efficiency (η opt ) of 5.84% could be achieved based on yellow-emitting CDs-based polymer photonic LSC. The high external optical efficiency was mainly attributed to the PL emission enhancement and good PC waveguide.

Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Boric Acid-Functionalized Graphene Quantum Dots: Tunable and Superior Optical Properties for Efficient Eco-Friendly Luminescent Solar Concentrators.

Carbon-based nanomaterials hold promise for eco-friendly alternatives to heavy-metal-containing quantum dots (QDs) in optoelectronic applications. Here, boric acid-functionalized graphene quantum dots (B-GQDs) were prepared using bottom-up molecular fusion based on nitrated pyrenes and boric acid. Such B-GQDs with crystalline graphitic structures and hydrogen-bonding functionalities would be suitable model systems for unraveling the photoluminescence (PL) mechanism, while serving as versatile building blocks for supramolecular self-assembly. Unlike conventional GQDs with multiple emissive states, the B-GQDs exhibited excitation-wavelength-independent, vibronic-coupled excitonic emission. Interestingly, their PL spectra can be tuned without largely sacrificing the quantum yield (QY) due to two-dimensional self-assembly. In addition, such B-GQDs in a polystyrene matrix possessed an ultrahigh QY (∼90%) and large exciton binding energy (∼300 meV). Benefiting from broadband absorption, ultrahigh QY, and long-wavelength emission, efficient laminated luminescent solar concentrators (100 × 100 × 6.3 mm3) were fabricated, yielding a high power conversion efficiency (1.4%).

Highly Emissive Carbon Dots/Organosilicon Composites for Efficient and Stable Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Highly Emissive Carbon Dots/Organosilicon Composites for Efficient and Stable Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Highly efficient tandem luminescent solar concentrators based on eco-friendly copper iodide based hybrid nanoparticles and carbon dots

Cu4I6(pr-ted)2 nanoparticles and carbon dots with ultra-high photoluminescence quantum yields are used as luminophores to fabricate highly efficient tandem luminescent solar concentrators.

Renewable energy for a green future: Electricity produced from efficient luminescent solar concentrators

This article proposes an overarching review of the technologies engaged in world wide energy demand which uses from non-renewable to renewable energies. The electricity generated from renewable systems is largely reducing CO2 emissions, one of the greenhouse gasses realesed from non-renewable energy sources that contribute to the global warming. The photovoltaic (PV) system is the technology with stronger potential to produce affordable electricity using solar energy. Therefore, we are focusing on the PVs regarding i) how they are assembled, ii) the energy losses from spectral mismatches, and iii) the improvements of their efficiencies by several ways, which include the connection of PVs with new techologies, e.g. the luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). Recent studies have reported advantages of applying LSCs connected to PVs’ cells, as well as some strategies for minimizing or eliminating self-absorption losses. Moreover, some efficiency meters evaluate LSCs’ operation. Guided by mainly recent researches, this article approaches flexibility, low cost, easy fabrication, and great efficiency of LSCs, the main goal for the PVs’ productions upon power electricity demand.

A highly efficient and transparent luminescent solar concentrator based on a nanosized metal cluster luminophore anchored on polymers

Organic–inorganic nano-sized hexanuclear complexes were copolymerized with PMMA to generate a LSC device with a high efficiency up to 1.24% and a transparency >85%. Our LSC suggests a practical future direction for smart windows.

Bright and Multicolor Emissive Carbon Dots/Organosilicon Composite for Highly Efficient Tandem Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Bright and Multicolor Emissive Carbon Dots/Organosilicon Composite for Highly Efficient Tandem Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Highly efficient multifunctional frosted luminescent solar concentrators with zero-energy nightscape lighting

Frosted luminescent solar concentrators exhibit potential as both deployed power-generating and persistent luminescence devices to replace commercial frosted glass.

Large scale synthesis of carbon dots for efficient luminescent solar concentrators

Hundred grams of C-dots are produced by directly heating metal citrate/urea/metal ions. The C-dots have absorption ranging from 300 to 500 nm with a QY of 70%, and a Stokes shift of 0.73 eV. These optical properties are suitable for efficient LSCs.