A fast and effective procedure for the optical efficiency determination of luminescent solar concentrators

Abstract

We introduce a new method for the prompt and effective evaluation of the optical efficiency of different sets of luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) based on dye-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) thin films. The procedure founded on the realization of a home-build apparatus (PeryRoom), which allowed for a fast and reliable measurement of the generated photocurrents profiting of the use of a photodiods system. The photocurrents were analyzed by means of a simple model inspired by the work of Goetzberger and Greube (1977) and rationalized in terms of different dye characteristics and film thickness. The procedure was eventually validated by comparing the optical efficiencies measured by using a Si-based photovoltaic module. Overall, the present results support the use of PeryRoom for the optimization of the current state-of-art LSC systems

Luminescent Solar Concentrators Based on Renewable Polyester Matrices

“…Conversely, LR/IGP2 films displayed emission features affected by fluorophore content (Figure a). When dispersed at low concentration in PMMA (i.e., 0.2–0.6 wt.%), LR showed a fluorescence emission peaked at 609 nm, respectively, with a Stokes shift of 39 nm, perfectly in agreement with results collected in PMMA . Notably, LR is a strong emitter also in the solid phase with quantum yield (QY) higher than 70 %.…”

“…In Figure a, the absorption and emission characteristics of LR/IGP2 films are reported. LR shows molecular absorption maximum at about 570 nm with a broad absorption band from 410–550 nm, which result mostly similar to those recorded in PMMA films . Notably, no evident absorption bands attributed to the formation of LR aggregates are observed and absorbance intensities increase regularly with fluorophore content, and without leveling off at the highest concentration (i.e., 1.4 wt %).…”

“…IGPn and GTPn films with a thickness of 25±5 μm (Starrett micrometer) were prepared by pouring about 1.2 mL chloroform (CHCl 3 ) solution containing about 60 mg of the polymer and the desired amount of LR or TPETPAFN (Figure ). Red emitting fluorophores were selected since they well‐match with the external quantum efficiency of the Si‐based PV module used in the photovoltaic experiments of this work …”

“…Notably, LR is a strong emitter also in the solid phase with quantum yield (QY) higher than 70 %. Above this range of concentration, the fluorescence band was affected by quenching phenomena like occurring in most of perylene‐based fluorophores due to their aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) character. The mild red‐shift of the emission maximum probably originated from auto‐absorption phenomena (inner filter effect).…”

Cost-effective solar concentrators based on red fluorescent Zn(ii)–salicylaldiminato complex

“…14 In order to assess the performances as LSC, an optically pure 50x50x3 mm glass was coated with ZnL/PMMA films with a thickness of 25±5 mm. Photocurrent measurements were accomplished with a home-built apparatus 43 LSC emission range by converting the optical power to an electrical current, allowing for a fast, precise and reproducible response even with different sets of samples. This approach was used to study the best working conditions for different dye/polymer LSC systems since the response curves of the photodiodes and the utilized PV module do not differ significantly.…”