Enhancing the efficiency of luminescent solar concentrators via soft colloidal lithography negative templating

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) offers a sustainable pathway by seamlessly incorporating PV cells into architectural elements like façades and windows. In this study, we investigate the potential of luminescent down-shifting solar concentrators in combination with a nanophotonic light-trapping scheme to improve the optical-guiding capabilities and thereby enhance the energy conversion efficiency. We propose a novel cost-effective method to fabricate the photonic structures via soft colloidal lithography negative templating of thin films of TiO2 nanoparticles, successfully scaling the production to 11x11 cm2 glass windows. Through simulations and optical-electrical characterization, we demonstrate substantial improvements in energy harvesting for different angles of solar irradiation. We found increases in power output ranging from 57% for angles of incidence below 45° to above 100% for 60° thanks to the nanostructured TiO2 nanoparticles coatings added to a bottom down-shifting layer. This shows that such integrated approach can enhance both the efficiency and aesthetic appeal of solar solutions in urban environments, advancing the design of energy-efficient, sustainable buildings. Our methodology ensures consistent solar energy capture all year-round, for the relevant range of sunlight incidence angles, while preserving the transparency and multifunctionality of building elements.

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Funding Information: This work was supported by the projects PID2020-116615RA-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, EMERGIA grant with reference EMC21_00008 and project C-ING-208-UGR23 funded by Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía, co-financed by FEDER “Andalucía 2021-2027”. Also by grants PID2023-149387OB-I00 and PID2023-147135OB-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by FEDER, EU. Also by a Short Term Scientific Mission from the COST Action CA18223 SyMat (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union. We also acknowledge funding by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P.) under the projects LA/P/0037/2020, UIDP/50025/2020 and UIDB/50025/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication—i3N, and by the projects SpaceFlex (2022.01610.PTDC) and M-ECO2 – Industrial cluster for advanced biofuel production, Ref. C644930471-00000041, co-financed by PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan of the European Union (Next Generation EU). This work was also developed within the scope of the projects CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/50011/2020), UIDP/50011/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/50011/2020) and LA/P/0006/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0006/2020) and Instituto de Telecomunicações, UIDB/50008/2020 (10.54499/UIDB/50008/2020), UIDP/50008/2020 (10.54499/UIDP/50008/2020) and LA/P/0109/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0109/2020), Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit – UCIBIO, UIDP/04378/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/04378/2020) and UIDB/04378/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/04378/2020), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC (PIDDAC), and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership through European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the frame of Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme (POCI). S.F.H.C. thanks FCT (2022.03740.CEECIND). Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)

Palavras-chave

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics Luminescent Solar Concentrators Soft Colloidal Lithography General Materials Science Mechanics of Materials Mechanical Engineering SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities