High-Performance Large-Area Luminescence Solar Concentrator Incorporating a Donor–Emitter Fluorophore System

Abstract

A high-performance large-area luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) is demonstrated, fabricated via careful choice of the fluorophore system, waveguide material, and coupled photovoltaic (PV) cells. Doctor-blading was used to deposit a PMMA–dye blend film on the surface of a PMMA planar waveguide to fabricate the large-area LSC with dimensions of 20 × 20 × 0.1 cm3. A perylene diimide-based donor–emitter fluorophore pair was chosen to both improve the photoluminescent quantum yield and reduce the luminescence reabsorption. Three types of photovoltaic cells were coupled to the LSC to optimize the device output performance. With the combination of the donor–emitter fluorophore pair chosen, the PMMA-based LSC deposition process and coupled perovskite PV cells, the LSC has an experimental flux gain of 7.4 at a geometric gain of 50 (G = 50) under 1 sun irradiation, with a power conversion efficiency of 2.6%.