Efficient sunlight harvesting and re-directioning onto small areas has great potential for more widespread use of precious high-performance photovoltaics but so far intrinsic solar concentrator loss mechanisms outweighed the benefits. Here we present an antenna concept allowing high light absorption without high reabsorption or escape-cone losses. An excess of randomly oriented pigments collects light from any direction and funnels the energy to individual acceptors all having identical orientations and emitting ~90% of photons into angles suitable for total internal reflection waveguiding to desired energy converters (funneling diffuse-light re-directioning, FunDiLight). This is achieved using distinct molecules that align efficiently within stretched polymers together with others staying randomly orientated. Emission quantum efficiencies can be >80% and single-foil reabsorption <0.5%. Efficient donor-pool energy funneling, dipole re-orientation, and ~1.5–2 nm nearest donor–acceptor transfer occurs within hundreds to ~20 ps. Single-molecule 3D-polarization experiments confirm nearly parallel emitters. Stacked pigment selection may allow coverage of the entire solar spectrum.

There is no theoretical limit in using molecular networks to harvest diffusive sun photons on large areas and funnel them onto much smaller areas of highly efficient but also precious energy-converting materials. The most effective concept reported so far is based on a pool of randomly oriented, light-harvesting donor molecules that funnel all excitation quanta by ultrafast energy transfer to individual light-redirecting acceptor molecules oriented parallel to the energy converters. However, the best practical light-harvesting system could only be discovered by empirical screening of molecules that either align or not within stretched polymers and the maximum absorption wavelength of the empirical system was far away from the solar maximum. No molecular property was known explaining why certain molecules would align very effectively whereas similar molecules did not. Here, we first explore what molecular properties are responsible for a molecule to be aligned. We found a parameter derived directly from the molecular structure with a high predictive power for the alignability. In addition, we found a set of ultrafast funneling molecules that harvest three times more energy in the solar’s spectrum peak for GaInP photovoltaics. A detailed study on the ultrafast dipole moment reorientation dynamics demonstrates that refocusing of the diffusive light is based on ∼15-ps initial dipole moment depolarization followed by ∼50-ps repolarization into desired directions. This provides a detailed understanding of the molecular depolarization/repolarization processes responsible for refocusing diffusively scattered photons without violating the second law of thermodynamics.

Light-harvesting concentrators have a high potential to make highly efficient but precious energy converters, such as multijunction photovoltaics, more affordable for everyday applications. They collect sunlight, including diffusively scattered light, on large areas and redirect it to much smaller areas of the highly efficiency solar cells. Among the best current concepts are pools of randomly oriented light-collecting donor molecules that transfer all excitons to few aligned acceptors reemitting the light in the direction of the photovoltaics. So far, this system has only been realized for the 350–550 nm wavelength range, suitable for AlGaInP photovoltaics. This was achieved by using acceptor molecules that aligned during mechanical stretching of polymers together with donors, that stay random in that very same material and procedure. However, until recently, very little was known about the factors that are responsible for the alignability of molecules in stretched polymers and therefore it was difficult to find suitable donors and acceptors, as well as for other spectral ranges. Recently, a structural parameter was introduced with a high predictivity for the alignability of molecules that contain rigid band-like structures or linear aromatic π-systems. However, for light concentrators in more red spectral ranges, molecular systems often contain larger and extended, planar-like π-systems for which the previously reported parameter is not directly applicable. Here, we present a refined prediction parameter also suitable for larger plane-like structures. The new parameter depends on the number of in-plane atoms divided by out-of-plane atoms as determined by computational geometry optimization and additionally the planar aspect ratio for molecules that contain only in-plane atoms. With the help of this parameter, we found a new system that can efficiently collect and redirect light for the second 500–700 nm AlGaAs layer of current world-record multijunction photovoltaics. Similarly, as the previously reported system for the blue-green layer, it has also overall absorption and re-directioning quantum efficiencies close to 80–100%. Both layers, together, already cover about 75% of the energy in the solar spectrum.

The use of colloidal particles as models to understand processes on a smaller size-scale is a highly valuable approach. Compared to molecules, particles are less defined but their architecture can be more complex, so is their long-range interaction. Sometimes one can observe phenomena which are unknown or much more difficult to realize on the molecular level. The current paper focuses on particle-based surfactants and reports about numerous unexpected properties. The main goal is the creation of an amphiphilic system with responsiveness in surface activity and associated self-organization phenomena depending on the application of an external trigger, preferably a physical field. A key step is the creation of a Janus-type particle characterized by two types of dipoles (electric and magnetic) which geometrically stand orthogonal to each other. In a field, one can control which contribution and which direction dominates the inter-particle interactions and as a result one can change the properties of the system drastically. The features of ferrite-core organosilica-shell particles with grain-like morphology modified by click chemistry is studied in response to spatially isotropic and anisotropic triggers. A highly unusual aggregation-dissolution-reaggregation sequence was discovered. Using a magnetic field, one can even switch off the amphiphilic properties and use this for the field-triggered breaking of multiphase systems such as emulsions.

Stable jet electrospinning (SJES) is a special form of optical fiber generation that prevents chaotic fiber whipping typical for conventional electrospinning procedures. Incorporation of highly emissive semiconductor nanoplatelets (NPLs) in such fibers has very high potential in optical data transmission, optological circuits, fiber lasers, solar light concentrators and many other fields because NPLs exhibit strongly directed emission from their surface plane due to various in‐plane transition dipole moments. However, potential orientation control of 2D‐NPLs in SJES is entirely unknown as electric fields and various mechanical forces contribute in a complex manner simultaneously. Here, the observation of counter‐intuitive yet very beneficial orientation of rectangular CdSe/CdS 2D‐NLP in SJES perpendicular to the fiber drawing axis is reported. Scanning electron microscopy, 3D‐single particle excitation polarization microscopy, 3D‐photogoniometry, polarized emission spectroscopy and small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) demonstrate aggregation free perpendicular alignment of the NPLs in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibers, resulting in dominant emission in directions parallel to the fiber. It is suggested that the observed vertical alignment is due to normal forces resulting from viscoelastic expansion when the polymer solution leaves the cannula (Barus effect) and that using such perpendicular nano‐emitter alignment forces allows for the generation of novel materials also beyond fibers.