Bulk luminescent solar concentrators based on organic-inorganic CH^sub 3^NH^sub 3^PbBr^sub 3^ perovskite fluorophores

In this paper, we report characterization and performance results of lead bromide perovskite luminescent solar concentrator. CH3NH3PbBr3 fluorophores are synthesized by sonication method and examined by their X-ray diffraction pattern and scanning electron microscopy. Synthesized perovskite shows excitonic absorption at 524 nm and PL emission peak located at 532 nm with a Stokes shift around 8 nm. Micron-sized fluorophores are dissolved in prepared solutions and uniformly embedded in PMMA host with 0.006–0.120%wt concentration. Then, Fabricated devices are cut into 50 × 30 × 5 mm cuboid shapes and placed in a mirror surrounded configuration with an attached photovoltaic cell. Fabricated device is put under standard AM1.5 illumination and the output spectrum from the concentrator is acquired. Re-absorption in the samples is also measured by variable optical path method, showing red-shifts up to 13 nm in the output spectrum. Spatially resolved photoluminescence maps and optical efficiencies are also presented for each sample. Plus, a Monte-Carlo ray tracing algorithm is developed to assist better understanding the experimental results. Stability of fabricated samples are evaluated under high intensity UV illumination, reporting efficiency reduction around 15% after 24 h. Finally, Comparing current-voltage characterization of the attached photovoltaic cell reveals optimized efficiency enhancement in the 0.04%wt sample above 65%.