LSC Fabrication and Design: Bulk Polymerization and Ultrathin Architectures

Renewable energy technologies that access underutilized spaces in the built environment will need to be implemented, on a large scale, to curtail trending increases in global temperature. Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs) are one such technology. They employ luminophores doped into polymer sandwiched in between glass plates, that redirect sunlight to the device periphery where photovoltaics are attached, producing power. Current devices do not have high enough efficiencies for commercialization. One of the biggest barriers is fluorophore aggregation which causes waveguide refractive index fluctuations which result in parasitic losses from the waveguide. In this work Copper Indium Disulfide/Zinc Sulfide (CIS/ZnS) quantum dots are ligand exchanged with a new block copolymer to reduce aggregation in a PMMA matrix. Additionally, a new LSC fabrication method is introduced that relies on ultrathin, highly concentrated films, created with applied pressure and micron sized spacers, to provide a more uniform index of refraction and increase waveguide trapping efficiency.