Luminescent solar concentrators serving as semitransparent photovoltaic windows could become an important element in net zero energy consumption buildings of the future. Colloidal quantum dots are promising materials for luminescent solar concentrators as they can be engineered to provide the large Stokes shift necessary for suppressing reabsorption losses in large-area devices. Existing Stokes-shift-engineered quantum dots allow for only partial coverage of the solar spectrum, which limits their light-harvesting ability and leads to colouring of the luminescent solar concentrators, complicating their use in architecture. Here, we use quantum dots of ternary I-III-VI 2 semiconductors to realize the first large-area quantum dot-luminescent solar concentrators free of toxic elements, with reduced reabsorption and extended coverage of the solar spectrum. By incorporating CuInSe x S 2-x quantum dots into photo-polymerized poly(lauryl methacrylate), we obtain freestanding, colourless slabs that introduce no distortion to perceived colours and are thus well suited for the realization of photovoltaic windows. Thanks to the suppressed reabsorption and high emission efficiencies of the quantum dots, we achieve an optical power efficiency of 3.2%. Ultrafast spectroscopy studies suggest that the Stokes-shifted emission involves a conduction-band electron and a hole residing in an intragap state associated with a native defect.

Meinardi, F., Mcdaniel, H., Carulli, F., Colombo, A., Velizhanin, K., Makarov, N., et al. (2015). Highly efficient large-area colourless luminescent solar concentrators using heavy-metal-free colloidal quantum dots. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY, 10(10), 878-885 [10.1038/nnano.2015.178].

Highly efficient large-area colourless luminescent solar concentrators using heavy-metal-free colloidal quantum dots

MEINARDI, FRANCESCO
;
CARULLI, FRANCESCO;COLOMBO, ANNALISA;SIMONUTTI, ROBERTO;BROVELLI, SERGIO
2015

Abstract

Luminescent solar concentrators serving as semitransparent photovoltaic windows could become an important element in net zero energy consumption buildings of the future. Colloidal quantum dots are promising materials for luminescent solar concentrators as they can be engineered to provide the large Stokes shift necessary for suppressing reabsorption losses in large-area devices. Existing Stokes-shift-engineered quantum dots allow for only partial coverage of the solar spectrum, which limits their light-harvesting ability and leads to colouring of the luminescent solar concentrators, complicating their use in architecture. Here, we use quantum dots of ternary I-III-VI 2 semiconductors to realize the first large-area quantum dot-luminescent solar concentrators free of toxic elements, with reduced reabsorption and extended coverage of the solar spectrum. By incorporating CuInSe x S 2-x quantum dots into photo-polymerized poly(lauryl methacrylate), we obtain freestanding, colourless slabs that introduce no distortion to perceived colours and are thus well suited for the realization of photovoltaic windows. Thanks to the suppressed reabsorption and high emission efficiencies of the quantum dots, we achieve an optical power efficiency of 3.2%. Ultrafast spectroscopy studies suggest that the Stokes-shifted emission involves a conduction-band electron and a hole residing in an intragap state associated with a native defect.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Bioengineering; Biomedical Engineering; Materials Science (all); Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Condensed Matter Physics; Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
English
2015
10
10
878
885
partially_open
Meinardi, F., Mcdaniel, H., Carulli, F., Colombo, A., Velizhanin, K., Makarov, N., et al. (2015). Highly efficient large-area colourless luminescent solar concentrators using heavy-metal-free colloidal quantum dots. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY, 10(10), 878-885 [10.1038/nnano.2015.178].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Meinardi-2015-Nature Nanotechnology-VoR.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Descrizione: Article
Tipologia di allegato: Publisher’s Version (Version of Record, VoR)
Dimensione 3.68 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.68 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Meinardi-2015-Nature Nanotechnology-AAM.pdf

accesso aperto

Descrizione: Article
Tipologia di allegato: Author’s Accepted Manuscript, AAM (Post-print)
Dimensione 891.33 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
891.33 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/91353
Citazioni
  • Scopus 455
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 437
Social impact