This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will synthesize and test new polymer materials for application in luminescent solar concentrators (LSC's). LSC's use a large area sheet to absorb solar radiation and light-pipe fluorescence efficiently to solar photovoltaic cells on the much smaller edge area. Thus, expensive solar cells can produce several times more electric power by using inexpensive plastic or glass sheets. LSC's work well in diffuse sunlight, do not need to track the sun, dissipate excess energy, and shift light toward the red where solar cells are more efficient. LSC's have been demonstrated to provide efficient energy converters but cannot be implemented because no suitable fluorescent materials (e.g. dyes in plastics) have been identified that do not bleach for long enough times to be cost effective. This firm has identified specific materials that should have the performance required for LSC.s to achieve competitive, levelized costs and proposes to prepare and test these novel materials .This project will prepare polymer materials and measure their absorption and fluorescence spectra and their fluorescence quantum efficiencies. This firm will obtain preliminary longevity data for these materials using an accelerated weathering tester. These results will be used in a preliminary economic analysis to determine the feasibility of our approach.
