Rapid Conversion from Carbohydrates to Large-Scale Carbon Quantum Dots for All-Weather Solar Cells.
A great challenge for state-of-the-art solar cells is to generate electricity in all weather. We present here the rapid conversion of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from carbohydrates (including glucose, maltol, sucrose) for an all-weather solar cell, which comprises a CQD-sensitized mesoscopic titanium dioxide/long-persistence phosphor (m-TiO2/LPP) photoanode, a I-/I3-redox electrolyte, and a platinum counter electrode. In virtue of the light storing and luminescent behaviors of LPP phosphors, the generated all-weather solar cells can not only convert sunlight into electricity on sunny days but persistently realize electricity output in all dark-light conditions. The maximized photoelectric conversion efficiency is as high as 15.1% for so-called all-weather CQD solar cells in dark conditions.
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China , Qingdao 266100, People's Republic of China.
Qunwei
0000-0002-2607-3967
Q
Tang
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China , Qingdao 266100, People's Republic of China.
Wanlu
W
Zhu
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China , Qingdao 266100, People's Republic of China.
Benlin
B
He
Key Laboratory of Advanced Technique & Preparation for Renewable Energy Materials, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Normal University , Kunming 650092, People's Republic of China.
Peizhi
P
Yang
all-weather solar cells; energy harvest; light absorption; photoanodes; solar energy utilization