Red-emitting AIEgen for luminescent solar concentrators

Abstract

This study reports for the first time the use of a red-emitting AIEgen, i.e. TPE-AC, for the realization of efficient luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC) thin films (25 ± 5 μm). TPE-AC is an AIEgen with D–A features that absorbs visible light in the range between 400 and 550 nm and emits fluorescence peaked at 600–620 nm, with a maximum quantum yield (QY) of 50% when dispersed (0.1–1.5 wt%) in PMMA and PC matrices. QY and lifetime investigations demonstrated that fluorescence quenching occurred with varying the TPE-AC concentration, even if the optical features were still significant even at the highest fluorophore content. Study of the LSCs’ performances yielded worthy optical efficiencies of 6.7% for the TPE-AC/PC systems due to their superior light harvesting features and the compatibility of the AIEgen within the PC matrix.