The Flexibility Problem of Luminescent Materials
In the solar industry, materials are already being used,
However, LSCs are currently only available as rigid components and are not suitable for use in textiles.The fact is that they are not flexible and permeable to air and water vapor.An interdisciplinary research team led by Luciano Bozel from the Laboratory of Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles of the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) has managed to combine several of these luminescent materials into a polymer that providesthe necessary flexibility and breathability for use in textiles.
A well-known polymer with complex properties
This new material is based on the properties of linearand hyperbranched amphiphilic block copolymers which are already on the market in the form of silicon hydrogel contact lenses. The special properties of the polymer - permeability to air and water vapor, as well as flexibility and stability - are based on special chemical properties.
"The reason we chose this particular polymer is that we can combine two immiscible luminescent materials at the nanoscale and allow them to interact with each other.Of course, there are other polymers into which these materials canbe integrated; But that would lead to aggregation, and thus energy production would be impossible," he explainsBozel.
Solar concentrators for clothing
In collaboration with colleagues from the other twofrom Empa Laboratories, Thin Films, Photovoltaics and Advanced Fibers, the Boesel team added two different luminescent materials to the gel cloth, transforming it into a flexible solar concentrator. As with large scale (rigid) collectors, luminescent materials capture a much wider spectrum of light than is possible with conventional photovoltaic cells. The new solar collectors can be applied to textile fibers without the fabric becoming brittle and prone to crackling or water vapor build-up in the form of sweat. Solar collectors, which can be adapted to be worn permanently on the human body, offer a huge advantage to the ever-increasing demand for energy, especially for portable devices.
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