About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T26: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Energy Materials for Sustainable Development
|
| Presentation Title |
Photon Recycling via Hybrid Photothermal Films and Photovoltaic Cells Under Natural Sunlight and Indoor LED Illumination for Continuous Energy Generation |
| Author(s) |
Donglu Shi, Anudeep Katepalli, Meher Saketh Gandharapu, Anton Harfmann, Mathias Bonmarin, John Krupczak |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Donglu Shi |
| Abstract Scope |
Solar energy harvesting remains largely dependent on photovoltaic (PV) panels, whose performance is strongly constrained by weather conditions and daylight availability. We report a hybrid photon-recycling approach that integrates photothermal thin films with photovoltaic cells to enable energy harvesting under both natural sunlight and indoor LED illumination. A Photothermal Solar Tunnel Radiator was developed using transparent panels coated with plasmonic Fe₃O₄@Cu₂₋ₓS nanoparticles that directly convert incident photons into heat. Under winter ambient temperatures from −6 to −2 °C, the photothermal films increased surface temperatures to ~50 °C, demonstrating effective photothermal conversion suitable for building heating. Stacked transparent photothermal films generated substantial heating under diffused illumination. In parallel, silicon and CdTe PV modules were evaluated for photon harvesting under sunlight and indoor LEDs. A six-panel silicon PV series achieved ~31% power conversion efficiency under indoor LED illumination, approaching the theoretical efficiency limit for silicon PVs. |