Analysis of the 1 Year Outdoor Performance of Quantum Dot Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Abstract

Three quantum dot luminescent solar concentrators (QDLSCs) are constructed to assess their performance in an outdoor environment over an entire year. The QDLSCs have a PMMA‐Kraton‐PMMA sandwich structure with either InP/ZnSe/ZnS, , or CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots incorporated in the Kraton interlayer. Furthermore, two reference LSCs are included: one using Lumogen F Red 305 as the luminophore and one without a luminophore in the Kraton layer. The power conversion efficiency is assessed for a cloudy and a sunny day, showing the influence of diffuse and direct irradiance. Moreover, the influence of mounting orientation and direct irradiance is analyzed for individual solar strips attached to the sides. Long‐term results show an efficiency increase of and InP/ZnSe/ZnS QDLSC while the CdSe/CdS/ZnS QDLSCs and the Lumogen LSC show a pronounced drop in efficiency in the first 3 months. Photodegradation studies under continuous white light exposure for 420 h are performed on smaller pieces cut from the QDLSCs before their assembly outdoors and show similar trends to those observed in the 1 year outdoor study. Future research will focus on the postmortem analysis of the QDLSCs and increasing the efficiencies.