Strategies to enhance the performance of luminescent solar concentrators using colloidal quantum dots

A luminescent solar concentrator (LSC), an optically transparent slab with high refractive index, infused with emissive luminophores, absorbs, re-emits and concentrates solar energy to the edges of a waveguide. This work aims to develop an efficient Monte-Carlo Ray-tracking algorithm to track the photon's excursion in LSC. The efficiency largely depends upon the optical properties of both luminophores and the slab waveguides. Two frameworks contribute here: (i) luminophores' optimal optical properties and (ii) design of the waveguide. Three colloidal QD-based systems (AgInS2/ZnS, ClSeS/ZnS and CuInS2) are employed and the ClSeS/ZnS QD-based LSC demonstrates the highest efficiency of 12.5% at a concentration of 200 ppm. Interestingly, a multi-QD approach in a single LSC device yields 17.2% efficiency which is 27.3% improvement over single QDs. By adjusting the luminophore emission angle from 45 degrees to 90 degrees the efficiency enhances by 2%. Future applications of the work include ecofriendly, sustainable renewable energy sources with long-term stability.