Fluorescent organic dyes in a silicone encapsulant composite for Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Organic dyes are the most commonly used luminophore in Luminescent Solar Concentrator (LSC), their fluorescent quantum yield (FQY) is required to be near unity in the host matrix, however, it is strongly affected by the matrix material and concentration of the luminophore used. In this work, silicone encapsulant material has been compared to Poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA for use in LSC. Concentration doping of two commercially available different dyes has been optimized in the Silicone encapsulant to form LSC layers. The FQY of these dyes has been determined in the matrix material. Finally, the stability of the dyes in the Silicone matrix has been studied.