Transparent glass-ceramics functionalized with EuSiO3 constrained BaF2:Eu2+ nanocrystals: theoretical design and experimental fulfillment towards an efficient spectral converter

Spectral conversion is feasible for various photonic or photoelectric device efficiency improvement, through harvesting extra photons out of the response region. But the challenge is still to fulfill spectral converters with overlapped photoluminescence (PL) emission and high optical transmittance windows. Here, a type of transparent Eu2+ doped fluorosilicate glass-ceramic is developed to enhance the UV resistance as well as maintain the high photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). For such purposes, we theoretically design glasses with a molecular dynamics simulation and experimentally prepare glass samples composed of immiscible fluoride and silicate glass sub-phases. Appropriate thermal treatment is then applied to grow EuSiO3 constrained BaF2:Eu nanocrystals from the fluoride sub-phases. The precipitation of BaF2:Eu nanocrystals enables Eu3+/Ba2+ lattice site substitution and further Eu3+ -> Eu2+ reduction. EuSiO3 serves as a diffusion barrier preventing the continuous growth of nanocrystals. These microstructures thus support the high visible optical transmittance >91%, strong UV (250-400 nm) to visible (400-600 nm) spectral converted photoluminescence, and a relatively high quantum yield (43.49%). Finally, we apply this spectral converting glass-ceramic on the ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PBDB-TF:Y6/PFN-Br/Ag OSC to demonstrate a significant improvement of UV resistance of the organic active layer without any loss of photovoltaic performance.

Automated summary

A transparent Eu2+ doped fluorosilicate glass-ceramic has been developed to enhance the UV resistance and maintain the high photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells. Through theoretical design and experimental preparation, glass samples with immiscible fluoride and silicate glass sub-phases are created, and a thermal treatment is applied to grow EuSiO3 constrained BaF2:Eu nanocrystals. These nanocrystals enable spectral conversion with high optical transmittance and a relatively high quantum yield. Applying this spectral converting glass-ceramic to the organic active layer significantly improves the UV resistance without compromising the photovoltaic performance.