A perspective on sustainable luminescent solar concentrators

Abstract

The luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) concept appeared almost forty years ago, as a solution to overcome the limitations related to photovoltaic cell efficiency. Nowadays, they are seen as a promising approach to integrate photovoltaic elements into the built environment, in an invisible way and without detrimental effects to the aesthetics of the building or the quality of life of the inhabitants. LSCs are devices comprising a transparent matrix embedding optically active centers that absorb the incident radiation, which is re-emitted at a specific wavelength and transferred by total internal reflection to photovoltaic cells located at the edges of the matrix. During the last few decades, several optically active materials have been tested for LSCs in an endless quest for the most efficient device. Nowadays, one of the world's major concerns is the environmental impact of our choices. Thus, the present and future path for LSCs must include the search for nature-friendly materials, with little environmental impact, and, in this sense, this Perspective offers a general overview of the potential of environmentally-friendly materials for LSCs.

A Superimposed QD-Based Optical Antenna for VLC: White LED Source

“…The re-emitted light density is trapped inside and directed to the edges of the waveguide through total internal reflection (TIR) and harvested by a photodetector coupled to the one small edge of the matrix. Finally, the modulated light signal is converted to an electrical signal which carries data [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Since the surface area of the LSC exposed to light signal is substantially higher than the edge area, it can concentrate light and improve the flux radiation incident onto the photodetector edge [ 45 , 46 ].…”

Exciton Dynamic in Pyramidal InP/ZnSe Quantum Dots for Luminescent Solar Concentrators

“…The up-converted or down-converted photoluminescence (PL) is then guided to the edges of the LSC by total internal reflection (TIR), where highly efficient PV cells can convert the collected concentrated light into electricity. As the edge area of an LSC is significantly smaller than its surface area, the photon density at the edge is notably enhanced, which could potentially decrease the sizes of the PVs, thus decreasing the cost of the electricity once the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of LSCs is over 6.5% . Besides decreasing the cost of electricity, the BIPVs can be widely used as the smart window in the city, which would be not possible for the PVs .…”

“…Besides decreasing the cost of electricity, the BIPVs can be widely used as the smart window in the city, which would be not possible for the PVs . Many factors can affect the optical efficiency of the LSCs, for example, the optical properties of the luminophores, the properties of the waveguide, and the configuration of the LSCs. − Among these factors, luminophores inside the transparent material are the critical factor to determine the optical efficiency of the LSCs. Typically, luminophores need to have a wide absorption range, high quantum yield (QY), a small overlap between the PL and absorption spectra, and good stability.…”

“…As the edge area of an LSC is significantly smaller than its surface area, the photon density at the edge is notably enhanced, which could potentially decrease the sizes of the PVs, thus decreasing the cost of the electricity once the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of LSCs is over 6.5%. 6 Besides decreasing the cost of electricity, the BIPVs can be widely used as the smart window in the city, which would be not possible for the PVs. 3 Many factors can affect the optical efficiency of the LSCs, for example, the optical properties of the luminophores, the properties of the waveguide, and the configuration of the LSCs.…”

Integration of Conjugated Copolymers‐Based Luminescent Solar Concentrators with Excellent Color Rendering and Organic Photovoltaics for Efficiently Converting Light to Electricity

“…[25][26][27] The latest research results show that carbon dots (C-dots) with high quantum yields have a very good application prospect in the field of LSCs; [28][29][30][31] (2) optimizing transparent optical lightguide (usually glass or polymers). Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), [32] polycarbonate (PC), [33] and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) [34] are commonly used optical waveguide materials, and their refractive indices have an important influence on the total internal reflection of light; [35] (3) integrating LSCs with different types of photovoltaic devices. To date, the photovoltaic cell technologies that have been integrated with LSCs mainly include crystalline silicon (C-Si), [36] microscale silicon, [37] polycrystalline, [38] CdTe, [39] GaAs, [40] CIGS, [39] DSSC, [41] and perovskite.…”