Compensation of self-absorption losses in luminescent solar concentrators by increasing luminophore concentration

Abstract

Self-absorption in luminophores is considered a major obstacle on the way towards efficient luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). It is commonly expected that upon increasing luminophore concentration in an LSC the absorption of the luminophores increases as well and therefore self-absorption losses will have higher impact on the performance of the device. In this work we construct a fully functioning liquid phase LSC where the luminophore concentration can be altered without changing other conditions in the experimental set-up. We step-wise enlarge the concentration of the luminophores Lumogen Red 305 and Lumogen Orange 240, while monitoring the electrical output and self-absorption effects. Contrary to common belief, self-absorption does not increasingly limit the performance of LSCs when the luminophore concentration increases.