The storage of time-stable holographic gratings in hydrogel matrices when the material is immersed in aqueous media is a real challenge at present. The optimization of the storage stages of the holograms must be properly investigated to identify the most suitable development processes. For this reason, this work is focused on the study of the optimization of the washing stages of the hydrogels based on acrylamide and N,N’-methylenebis(acrylamide) once unslanted transmission holograms have been stored. High-performance liquid chromatography and UV-visible measurements have been employed in our system to analyze the composition of the washing solutions. PBST and DMSO:H2O are used as solvents in the washing stages. The diffraction efficiencies are measured during the washing stages and after the storing of the holograms during several days in PBST. Maximum diffraction efficiencies of 38 and 27.6% are reached when PBST and DMSO:H2O are employed, respectively, for the washing process. Holograms show temporal stability after being stored immersed in PBST at 4 °C for 4 days.

In this work it is shown the first characterization of holographic solar concentrators recorded in Biophotopol -one of the greenest photopolymers. Biophotopol is an acrylate-based and water-soluble photopolymer with good recycling properties. The composition of this photopolymer and their thickness are easily changeable, which implies an important advantage vs. others commercialized photopolymers. Good diffraction efficiency and wide acceptance angles are achieved on phase volume transmission holograms by using an optimized composition and thin layers. A curing stage with a white incoherent light has been performed to obtain high temporal stability together with a good diffraction efficiency. Finally, the performance of the holographic lenses as holographic solar concentrators has been evaluated with an electronic setup connected to a polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell and a high intensity solar simulator emitting a standard solar spectrum (AM1.5G).