Spectral conversion materials for light-harvesting utilising an intrinsically fluorescent nanostructured polymer host matrix Joshua K. G. Karlsson 1 ,Bethan L. Charles 1 ,Oliver B. Nelson-Dummett 1 , Guanpeng Lyu 1 ,Richard Malpass-Evans 2 , Neil B. McKeown 2 and RachelC.Evans 1 1 Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, UK, 2 School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, UK. Luminecet solar concentrators (LSCs) are used to increase the amount of solar irradiation harvested for energy conversion by doping a transparent thin film material (usually a polymer) with highly luminescent chromophores. The choice of chromophore can be matched with a solar photovoltaic device to enhance spectral response. [1] A common approach is to employ highly luminous organic dyes in donor-acceptor systems, utilising resonance energy transfer for so-called “fluorescence downshifting”. [2] Challenges in this area of research tend to revolve around optimising conditions of the host matrix, so as to avoid deleterious effects on the emissive dye (aggregation, photobleaching and other non-radiative losses). [3] In addition to increasing light-harvesting from outdoor solar irradiation LSCs could, with appropriate spectral matching, also be designed towards harvesting diffuse indoor illumination for powering small devices. In this study we focus on undrstanding the interaction between the dye and host material by designing solution- processed thin film LSCs comprising an inherently fluorescent polymer of intrinsic microporosity (known as PIM-1) [4] which acts as a light-harvesting host for a commercial emissive acceptor (Lumogen Red 305) – see Figure. Key to this study is understanding the structure-property relationship of resonance energy transfer with respect to the host’s nanoporous structure. To this end, detailed photophysical studies including steady-state absorption and emission spectroscopy coupled with time-resolved fluorescence and absolute emission quantum yield measurements have allowed us to model resonance energy transfer in this system. Owing to the intrinsic high radiative emission from PIM-1 the need for an additional “donor” dye in the host is eliminated, lowering upscaling costs and enhancing light-harvesting.
References 1. McKenna, B. and Evans, R.C., 2017. Advanced Materials, 29(28), p.1606491. 2. Zhang, B., Lyu, G., Kelly, E.A. and Evans, R.C., 2022. Advanced Science, 9(23), p.2201160. 3. Papakonstantinou, I., Portnoi, M. and Debije, M.G., 2021. Advanced Energy Materials, 11(3), p.2002883. 4. Budd, P.M., McKeown, N.B., Ghanem, B.S., Msayib, K.J., Fritsch, D., Starannikova, L., Belov, N., Sanfirova, O., Yampolskii, Y. and Shantarovich, V., 2008. Journal of Membrane Science, 325(2), pp.851-860.
P178E
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog