Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Incorporation of Stokes shifting dyes into a Si-based photovoltaic thermal system

  • Impact Article
  • Published:
MRS Bulletin Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this article, a novel photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) geometry is introduced that allows for passive microlensing, IR collection, and photovoltaic deployment, as in previous implementations, together with spectral splitting. Stokes shifting dyes of the Coumarin family were dispersed in a thermal fluid in front of a single-junction amorphous silicon PV using a tubular focusing geometry. This architecture effectively shifts the high-energy UV flux into near bandgap photons for the Si, while capturing the released energy of the Stokes transition as heat. By combining this with the thermal fluid’s IR absorption and the PV, the system converts a surprising amount of the solar flux into collectable power, with a 71.05% thermal conversion efficiency and 2.07% electrical efficiency, leading to a total system efficiency of conversion of 73.1 percent. Temperatures and heat flow were then simulated to connect optical characteristics to thermal transport characteristics and allow for optimization under various circumstances.

Impact statement

The large entry cost of solar makes it unattainable for large segments of the world’s population. In this article, we present a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system, made of low-cost, easily accessible materials that are simple to manufacture. Together, the components of the system harvest energy from nearly the entire solar spectrum using a photovoltaic, infrared absorbing thermal fluid and a Stokes shifting dye. The geometry of the PV/T acts as a passive microlens system while providing the additional benefit of keeping the PV cool. The modeling presented allows for optimization in specific applications.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data sets generated during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

The code generated during this study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. Renewables 2021 Global Status Report (REN21, 2021)

  2. W. Shockley, H.J. Queisser, J. Appl. Phys. 32, 510 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1736034

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. T. Trupke, M.A. Green, P. Würfel, J. Appl. Phys. 92, 1668 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1492021

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. H.J. Hovel, R.T. Hodgson, J.M. Woodall, Sol. Energy Mater. 2, 19 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1633(79)90027-3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. B.-C. Hong, K. Kawano, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 43, 1421 (2004). https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.43.1421

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. D.E. Osborn, M.A.C. Chendo, M.A. Hamdy, F. Luttmann, M.R. Jacobson, H.A. Macleod, R. Swenson, Sol. Energy Mater. 14, 299 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1633(86)90055-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. J.D. McCambridge, M.A. Steiner, B.L. Unger, K.A. Emery, E.L. Christensen, M.W. Wanlass, A.L. Gray, L. Takacs, R. Buelow, T.A. McCollum, J.W. Ashmead, G.R. Schmidt, A.W. Haas, J.R. Wilcox, J. Van Meter, J.L. Gray, D.T. Moore, A.M. Barnett, R.J. Schwartz, Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 19, 352 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.1030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. R. Cariou, J. Benick, F. Feldmann, O. Höhn, H. Hauser, P. Beutel, N. Razek, M. Wimplinger, B. Bläsi, D. Lackner, M. Hermle, G. Siefer, S.W. Glunz, A.W. Bett, F. Dimroth, Nat. Energy 3, 326 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0125-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. N.H. Vu, T.T. Pham, S. Shin, Energies 13, 2360 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/en13092360

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. G. Huang, S.R. Curt, K. Wang, C.N. Markides, Nano Mater. Sci. 2(3), 183 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoms.2020.03.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. F.Sh. Zainulabdeen, A.H. Al-Hamdani, G.S. Karam, J.H. Ali, AIP Conf. Proc. 2190, 020054 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5138540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. X. Ju, C. Xu, X. Han, X. Du, G. Wei, Y. Yang, Appl. Energy 187, 534 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.11.087

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. H. Ramdani, C. Ould-Lahoucine, Energy Convers. Manag. 222, 113238 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.113238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. W.A.M. Al-Shohani, R. Al-Dadah, S. Mahmoud, Appl. Therm. Eng. 109, 475 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.08.107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. X. Han, L. Tu, Y. Sun, Sol. Energy 223, 168 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2021.05.039

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. M. Vaka, R. Walvekar, A.K. Rasheed, M. Khalid, H. Panchal, IEEE Access 8, 58227 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2950384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. S. Aberoumand, S. Ghamari, B. Shabani, Sol. Energy 165, 167 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.03.028

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Y. Li, E.D. Peterson, H. Huang, M. Wang, D. Xue, W. Nie, W. Zhou, D.L. Carroll, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 243505 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3453757

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. H. Huang, Y. Li, M. Wang, W. Nie, W. Zhou, E.D. Peterson, J. Liu, G. Fang, D.L. Carroll, Sol. Energy 85, 450 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2010.12.011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. L.J. Gray, C. Griffin, W. Wolszczak, P. Allaire, D.L. Carroll, J. Renew. Sustain. Energy 13, 069101 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0065592

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. U. Raikar, C.G. Renuka, Y.F. Nadaf, B.G. Mulimani, A.M. Karguppikar, M.K. Soudagar, Spectrochim. Acta A 65, 673 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2005.12.028

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. M. Hetmańska, A. Maciejewski, RSC Adv. 7, 44843 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RA05051H

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. R. Biswas, J.E. Lewis, M. Maroncelli, Chem. Phys. Lett. 310, 485 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2614(99)00838-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. F. Sobhnamayan, F. Sarhaddi, M.A. Alavi, S. Farahat, J. Yazdanpanahi, Renew. Energy 68, 356 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2014.01.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. I. Karaaslan, T. Menlik, Sol. Energy 224, 1260 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2021.06.072

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. E. Skoplaki, J.A. Palyvos, Sol. Energy 83, 614 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2008.10.008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. B.J. Fontenault, E. Gutierrez-Miravete, “Modeling a Combined Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panel,” in Proceedings of 2012 COMSOL Conference (Boston, 2012). https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Modeling-a-Combined-Photovoltaic-Thermal-Solar-Fontenault-Gutierrez-Miravete/8b4b6dccb80b94f1a9a4a77a745b62c7bc332f87. Accessed 29 Jul 2022

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Laxman Poudel of WFU Physics and Anthony Le of WFU Chemistry for assistance with the spectroscopy measurements. The authors would also like to thank E. Chapman for assistance with handling of the glass tubes and D. Stieler for help with the quantum efficiency of the photovoltaic.

Funding

This work was supported by the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials and Department of Physics, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, USA

    Lindsey J. Gray, K. Burak Ucer & David L. Carroll

  2. Department of Engineering Physics, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, USA

    Daniela Buna

Authors
  1. Lindsey J. Gray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daniela Buna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. K. Burak Ucer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. David L. Carroll
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Authors contributed equally to this work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David L. Carroll.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 2355 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gray, L.J., Buna, D., Ucer, K.B. et al. Incorporation of Stokes shifting dyes into a Si-based photovoltaic thermal system. MRS Bulletin 48, 449–458 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-022-00444-w

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-022-00444-w

Keywords