SBIR Phase I: Luminescent Solar Concentrating Glass Windows Quantum Dot Coatings

SBIR第一阶段项目开发了一种称为发光太阳能集中的技术，将通过将窗户变成白天的电力来源来扩展窗户的功能。这项技术的目标市场是城市地区的高层建筑，那里的电力需求最高，安装太阳能电池的可用空间最小。这项技术利用了一种可以吸收太阳光的窗户色调，并通过窗户玻璃将某种颜色的光反射到位于边缘的小型太阳能电池上。这项技术还没有商业化，因为以前的着色材料通常会吸收自己发出的光，限制了效率。该项目旨在通过一种由量子点制成的新型低成本窗户着色材料来解决这些问题。在该项目中进行的工作重点是发现量子点效率和成本降低的新改进。有了这项技术，高层建筑将接近净零能耗，甚至向电网供电。这将减少城市的碳足迹，并为占用这些建筑的公司/个人节省资金，这将增加他们的繁荣和福利。这项技术还将通过限制发电所需的燃煤量来减少污染。该项目的技术创新是开发一种理想的窗户着色材料，用于将窗户转变为城市建筑的发电部件。发光太阳能集中器是通过用荧光团材料给窗户着色制成的，荧光团材料部分吸收阳光，然后将其转化为荧光，最好是近红外荧光。荧光通过全内反射被捕获在窗口内，并集中到边缘，在那里小型太阳能电池有效地将光转换为电能。由于不合适的荧光团，在窗户中利用这种技术来发电尚未商业化。本项目采用的荧光团是由CuInSeS/ZnS组成的量子点，解决了以往材料存在的问题。传统的荧光团如光致发光染料通常具有强的自吸收、窄的光谱吸收和差的稳定性。量子点由于其容易调谐的光发射而令人感兴趣，更稳定，但昂贵，有毒（由于重金属），并且还遭受自吸收。CuInSeS/ZnS量子点的突破在于它们明显便宜，避免有毒元素，具有针对低成本商业太阳能电池优化的近红外荧光，并且不会自吸收。在SBIR第一阶段项目中，CuInSeS/ZnS量子点将被优化以获得更高的光致发光效率50%，并作为行业兼容的涂层应用于玻璃基板以获得更高的性能。

This SBIR Phase I project develops a technology called luminescent solar concentration that will extend the function of windows by turning them into daytime sources of electricity. The target market for this technology is tall buildings in urban areas, where electricity demand is the highest and the available space for installing solar cells is smallest. This technology utilizes a window tint that can absorb sunlight and remit light of a certain color through the window's glass to small solar cells located at the edges. This technology hasn't been commercialized yet because previous tint materials typically absorb their own emitted light, limiting efficiency. This project aims to provide a solutions to these problems with a novel low-cost window tint material made from quantum dots. The work conducted in this project focuses on discovering new improvements in efficiency and cost reduction of the quantum dots. With this technology, tall buildings will approach net-zero energy consumption or even supply electricity to the grid. This would reduce the city's carbon footprint as well as save money for the companies/individuals occupying these buildings, which would increase their prosperity and welfare. This technology would also reduce pollution by limiting the amount of burned coal needed to generate electricity.The technical innovation in this project is the development of an ideal window-tint material that will be used to transform windows into electricity generating components of urban buildings. Luminescent solar concentrators are made by tinting a window with a fluorophore material that partially absorbs sunlight and then converts it to fluorescence, preferably in the near-infrared. The fluorescence is trapped inside the window by total internal reflection and is concentrated to the edges where small solar cells efficiently convert that light into electricity. Utilizing this technology in windows to generate electricity has not been commercialized due to unsuitable fluorophores. The fluorophore used in this project are quantum dots composed of CuInSeS/ZnS, which solves the problems of previous materials. Traditional fluorophores like photoluminescent dyes typically have strong self-absorption, narrow spectral absorption, and poor stability. Quantum dots, which are interesting due to their easily tunable light emission, are more stable, but are expensive, toxic (due to heavy metals), and also suffer from self-absorption. The breakthrough in CuInSeS/ZnS quantum dots is that they are significantly cheaper, avoid toxic elements, have near-infrared fluorescence optimized for low-cost commercial solar cells, and do not self-absorb. In this SBIR Phase I project CuInSeS/ZnS quantum dots will be optimized for higher photoluminescence efficiency 50% and applied as industry-compatible coatings to glass substrates for higher performance.