Ultraviolet and Near-Infrared Dual Band Selective-Harvesting Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators

TL;DR

This paper presents a dual-band selective-harvesting transparent luminescent solar concentrator system that combines UV and NIR luminophores, achieving high power efficiency and transparency suitable for building and automotive applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel TLSC system using phosphorescent nanoclusters and organic molecules for UV and NIR harvesting, with record-high light utilization efficiency and power conversion performance.

Findings

PCE over 3% with AVT exceeding 75%

Highest light utilization efficiency of 2.6 among TLSCs

Outperforms non-wavelength-selective transparent photovoltaics

Abstract

Visibly transparent luminescent solar concentrators (TLSCs) can optimize both power production and visible transparency by selectively harvesting the invisible portion of the solar spectrum. Since the primary applications of TLSCs include building envelopes, greenhouses, automobiles, signage, and mobile electronics, maintaining aesthetics and functionalities is as important as achieving high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in practical deployment. In this work, we combine massive-downshifting phosphorescent nanoclusters and fluorescent organic molecules into a TLSC system as ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) selective-harvesting luminophores, respectively, demonstrating UV and NIR dual-band selective-harvesting TLSCs with PCE over 3%, average visible transmittance (AVT) exceeding 75% and color metrics suitable for the window industry. With distinct wavelength-selectivity and effective utilization of the invisible portion of the solar spectrum, this work reports the highest light utilization efficiency (PCE x AVT) of 2.6 for a TLSC system, the highest PCE of any transparent photovoltaic device with AVT greater than 70%, and outperforms the practical limit for non-wavelength-selective transparent photovoltaics.