Poly(methyl methacrylate) Films with High Concentrations of Silicon Quantum Dots for Visibly Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Samantha K.E. Hill; Ryan Connell; Jacob Held; Colin Peterson; Lorraine Francis; Marc A. Hillmyer; Vivian E. Ferry; Uwe Kortshagen

doi:10.1021/acsami.9b22903

Poly(methyl methacrylate) Films with High Concentrations of Silicon Quantum Dots for Visibly Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Samantha K.E. Hill, Ryan Connell, Jacob Held, Colin Peterson, Lorraine Francis, Marc A. Hillmyer, Vivian E. Ferry, Uwe Kortshagen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) are attractive, nontoxic luminophores for luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). Here, we produced Si QD/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films on glass by doctor-blading polymer solutions and achieved films with low light scattering at an order of magnitude higher Si QD weight fraction than has been achieved previously in the bulk. We suggest that the fast solidification rate of films as compared to slow bulk polymerization is an enabling factor in avoiding large agglomerates within the nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that ∼100 nm or larger QD agglomerates exist in light-scattering films, and photoluminescence intensity measurements show that light scattering, if present, significantly reduces waveguiding efficiencies for LSCs. Nonscattering films fabricated in this work exhibit high ultraviolet absorption (>80%) paired with high visible transmission (>87%) and minimal visible haze (∼1%), making them well suited for semitransparent coatings for LSCs realized as solar harvesting windows.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	4572-4578
Number of pages	7
Journal	ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume	12
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b22903
State	Published - Jan 29 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported partially by the National Science Foundation under Award Number 1553234 and the MRSEC program under Award Number DMR-1420013. Partial support was received from a Discovery grant from the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota under Award Number DG-0002-17. The authors also acknowledge partial support from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (M.L. 2018, Chp. 214, Art. 4, Sec. 02, Subd. 07a). Part of this work was carried out in the College of Science and Engineering Characterization Facility, University of Minnesota, which has received capital funding from the NSF through the MRSEC program under Award Number DMR-1420013. S.K.E.H. was supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program under award 00039202. The authors also thank Wieslaw J. Suszynski for his helpful advice in preparing film coatings, Yaling Liu for assistance with quantum yield measurements, and John Keil for assistance with calculations.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.

Keywords

coating
luminescent solar concentrators
nanocomposite
poly(methyl methacrylate)
silicon quantum dots
thin film

How much support was provided by MRSEC?

Partial

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10.1021/acsami.9b22903

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Poly(methyl methacrylate) Films with High Concentrations of Silicon Quantum Dots for Visibly Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators. / Hill, Samantha K.E.; Connell, Ryan; Held, Jacob; Peterson, Colin; Francis, Lorraine ; Hillmyer, Marc A.; Ferry, Vivian E.; Kortshagen, Uwe.

In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Vol. 12, No. 4, 29.01.2020, p. 4572-4578.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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abstract = "Silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) are attractive, nontoxic luminophores for luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). Here, we produced Si QD/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films on glass by doctor-blading polymer solutions and achieved films with low light scattering at an order of magnitude higher Si QD weight fraction than has been achieved previously in the bulk. We suggest that the fast solidification rate of films as compared to slow bulk polymerization is an enabling factor in avoiding large agglomerates within the nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that ∼100 nm or larger QD agglomerates exist in light-scattering films, and photoluminescence intensity measurements show that light scattering, if present, significantly reduces waveguiding efficiencies for LSCs. Nonscattering films fabricated in this work exhibit high ultraviolet absorption (>80%) paired with high visible transmission (>87%) and minimal visible haze (∼1%), making them well suited for semitransparent coatings for LSCs realized as solar harvesting windows.",

keywords = "coating, luminescent solar concentrators, nanocomposite, poly(methyl methacrylate), silicon quantum dots, thin film",

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note = "Funding Information: This work was supported partially by the National Science Foundation under Award Number 1553234 and the MRSEC program under Award Number DMR-1420013. Partial support was received from a Discovery grant from the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota under Award Number DG-0002-17. The authors also acknowledge partial support from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (M.L. 2018, Chp. 214, Art. 4, Sec. 02, Subd. 07a). Part of this work was carried out in the College of Science and Engineering Characterization Facility, University of Minnesota, which has received capital funding from the NSF through the MRSEC program under Award Number DMR-1420013. S.K.E.H. was supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program under award 00039202. The authors also thank Wieslaw J. Suszynski for his helpful advice in preparing film coatings, Yaling Liu for assistance with quantum yield measurements, and John Keil for assistance with calculations. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2020 American Chemical Society.",

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AU - Francis, Lorraine

AU - Hillmyer, Marc A.

AU - Ferry, Vivian E.

AU - Kortshagen, Uwe

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N2 - Silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) are attractive, nontoxic luminophores for luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). Here, we produced Si QD/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films on glass by doctor-blading polymer solutions and achieved films with low light scattering at an order of magnitude higher Si QD weight fraction than has been achieved previously in the bulk. We suggest that the fast solidification rate of films as compared to slow bulk polymerization is an enabling factor in avoiding large agglomerates within the nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that ∼100 nm or larger QD agglomerates exist in light-scattering films, and photoluminescence intensity measurements show that light scattering, if present, significantly reduces waveguiding efficiencies for LSCs. Nonscattering films fabricated in this work exhibit high ultraviolet absorption (>80%) paired with high visible transmission (>87%) and minimal visible haze (∼1%), making them well suited for semitransparent coatings for LSCs realized as solar harvesting windows.

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Poly(methyl methacrylate) Films with High Concentrations of Silicon Quantum Dots for Visibly Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

How much support was provided by MRSEC?

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Publisher link

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University of Minnesota MRSEC (DMR-1420013)

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