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

Jun Choi, Dieu Nguyen, Eunbyeol Gi, Konstantin A. Brylev, Ji Woong Yu, Dawoon Kim, Won Bo Lee, Dong Ha Kim, In Chung, Kyung Kon Kim, Sung Jin Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

A highly efficient luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) composed of a nanosized metal-cluster as a molecular luminophore copolymerized with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was fabricated through a simple solution process. Organic-inorganic salts such as (dMDAEMA)2[Mo6Cl14] and (dMDAEMA)2[Mo6I14] (where dMDAEMA is 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl dimethyldodecylammonium) were copolymerized with PMMA to generate a highly effective, transparent, and robust LSC waveguide. This hybrid luminophore enabled the development of a highly efficient UV-vis sunlight harvesting device due to strong absorption at UV-vis wavelengths up to ∼500 nm and a large downshift of luminescence at near-infrared wavelengths (∼850 nm). Si photovoltaic cells were placed at the edge of the LSC waveguide plate to collect the concentrated luminescence by internal reflection. LSCs fabricated with a 2.0 × 2.0 × 0.3 mm3 size had the highest observed power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.24% and a transparency of ∼85%, which were much higher than those of LSCs made from other luminophores with the same Si photovoltaic cell. Our LSC with chemical/physical durability, robustness, and solution processability for any desirable plate size and thickness suggests a practical future direction for smart windows of urban buildings where traditional Si photovoltaic cells cannot be directly employed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4402-4410
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry C
Volume10
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 18 Feb 2022

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