Invisible Luminescent Solar Concentrators

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This project addresses low-cost photovoltaic (PV) thin film technology that can offer alternative methods to integrating solar energy technology into building envelops. The integration of solar-harvesting components into the building envelope is a transformative route to capturing solar energy for electricity generation while lowering effective solar cell installation costs and improving building energy efficiency. Widespread adoption of this approach is limited by difficulties associated with mounting traditional solar cell modules around buildings due to cost, architectural impedance, and aesthetics. This fundamental research project addresses low-cost luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) film technology that is highly transparent in the visible light spectrum enabling integration onto windows, glazing systems, and siding in the building envelope. The technology is virtually invisible on glazing while offering additional renewable electricity generation for the building. The project will leverage the research results for outreach activities including the development of solar concentrator kits, deployment of sustainable energy technologies across campus, and increasing the scientific awareness of renewable energy technologies for undergraduate students and pre-college students. The fundamental knowledge gained of these luminescent systems will also have potential in enhancing traditional solar cells, and light emitting diodes.The goal of this fundamental research is to investigate novel phosphorescent nanoclusters and fluorescent organic salts, and exploit their properties to enable widespread affordable net-zero-energy building technologies. By modifying the bandgap and the discontinuity of states between molecular orbitals it is possible to tune the solar harvesting of these materials outside of the visible light spectrum (e.g. ultra violet, UV region) into the near-infrared (NIR). The excitonic character and structured absorption of the targeted materials will be designed to produce luminescent solar concentrator architectures that selectively and efficiently harvest UV and NIR light by waveguiding deeper-NIR emission to high efficiency solar cells. The film system will absorb and emit energy around the visible spectrum. The project will integrate fundamental understanding of chemical structure-properties, exciton-harvesting, photon management, and morphology-property relationships with optical and lifetime engineering necessary to produce a viable solar pathway. Stokes-shift engineering of luminophores will be investigated to optimize the optical efficiency and realize large-area scalability.