DELPHI - Design of Persistent Luminescence Nanocrystals for round-the-clock photovoltaic

Abstract

Persistent luminescence (PeL) materials are compounds that can temporarily store excitation energy in metastable traps and subsequently release it as photons after a certain time. Certain PeL materials can be excited by solar light, resulting in a prolonged emission period that can extend to several hours. Predominantly studied in bulk form, these materials have applications primarily in toys and emergency signals. However, achieving precise control over the duration and intensity of PeL remains challenging, particularly in nanocrystals (NCs).
DELPHI aims to design PeL nanocrystals (NCs) and exploit it for solar light harvesting in photovoltaic (PV) devices. PV is one of the most powerful renewable energy sources, and the research is nowadays very active for enhancing its efficiency. However, PV inherently remains a discontinuous power source. 
DELPHI plans to extend PV operation during night. For achieve this challenge, DELPHI aims to fabricate PeL NCs and control the traps responsible of the PeL through targeted synthesis strategies. These strategies will maximize solar light absorption, enhance storage capacity, control PeL duration, and achieve high emission. 
The synthesis part will be coupled to a detailed optical and structural investigation to confirm the beneficial effect of the heterostructure growth. The new PeL  NCs will be employed to assemble a proof – of – concept PV ables to work “round-the-clock”. Overall, DELPHI aims to increase the knowledge on PeL phenomenon, significantly expand the PeL material performances at the nanoscale, and revolutionize PV devices and solar-based technologies. 

Project number: FIS-2024-03509

CUP: D53C25002460001

Principal Investigator: Federico Locardi

Call: Fondo Italiano per la Scienza - FIS 3  [link]

Budget: 1'279'520.00 €

Starting/end date: 01/04/2026 - 31/03/2031 (5 years)