Fabrication of fluorescent PMMA-carbon nanodots optical films and their feasibility in improving solar cells efficiency using low-cost sustainable materials

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots synthesized from l-arginine and ethylenediamine (NCNDs); citric acid-derived carbon nanodots with carboxylic surface groups (alpha-CDs); and Silica-Cdots hybrids produced through coupling alpha-CDs to SiO2 nanoparticles were used for the fabrication of fluorescent PMMA-CDs optical films. The nanoparticles occlusion allows the conversion of a broader UV bandwidth to the visible by enhancing PMMA's natural fluorescence. This UV-to-Visible conversion boost can enhance the efficiency of solar energy concentrators and generators and, as a proof-of-concept, photovoltaic cells were coated with NCNDs-doped PMMA films. Experiments show an 11.3% cell efficiency increase after film application, which can be further enhanced by optimizing film production and deployment, what shows the feasibility and potential of these low-cost environmentally friendly materials.