Stable and Eco-Friendly Ag–In–S/Zn–S Quantum Dots for an Efficient and Optically Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrator-Organic Solar Cell System

Abstract

Quantum-dot (QD) based luminescent solar concentrator-organic solar cell (LSC-OSC) systems demonstrate significant potential in applications including building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), indoor photovoltaics, smart windows, sound barriers, and optical communications. In this study, eco-friendly Ag–In–S/Zn–S QDs with a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY = 72.99%) are synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method. The influence of Zn–S precursor reactivity on the core/shell QD properties is systematically investigated. The synthesized QDs exhibit excellent stability, with only a slight change (3.5%) in fluorescence intensity over a wide temperature range (90–285 K). Subsequently, the QDs are successfully employed in an LSC-OSC system. The Ag–In–S/Zn–S LSCs maintain over 90% of their initial PLQY after a two-month exposure to natural sunlight. Additionally, the power conversion efficiency of the fabricated LSC-OSC system reaches 5.36±0.04% under near-actual condition (11 mW cm-2). Notably, the fabricated LSCs have minimal impact on the incident sunlight spectrum, with a high color rendering index of 94.33 for the light transmitted through the LSC, making them suitable for BIPV applications. Thus, this study is a first that is known to report the integration of eco-friendly QD-based LSCs with OSCs, which positively contributes to the advancement of BIPV and related fields.

Keywords: luminescent solar concentrator, organic solar cell, Ag-In-S quantum dot, luminescent material