A Leaf‐Inspired Luminescent Solar Concentrator for Energy‐Efficient Continuous‐Flow Photochemistry

The use of solar light to promote chemical reactions holds significant potential with regard to sustainable energy solutions. While the number of visible light‐induced transformations has increased significantly, the use of abundant solar light has been extremely limited. We report a leaf‐inspired p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017-01, Vol.56 (4), p.1050-1054
Main Authors: Cambié, Dario, Zhao, Fang, Hessel, Volker, Debije, Michael G., Noël, Timothy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical reactions
Concentrators
energy conversion
Fluorescence
Fluorescent dyes
Fluorescent indicators
Irradiation
Leaves
luminescent solar concentrator
Microchannels
microreactors
Organic chemistry
Photochemistry
Photovoltaic cells
Polydimethylsiloxane
Radiation
Renewable energy
Solar energy
Solar power
Sustainability
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Summary:The use of solar light to promote chemical reactions holds significant potential with regard to sustainable energy solutions. While the number of visible light‐induced transformations has increased significantly, the use of abundant solar light has been extremely limited. We report a leaf‐inspired photomicroreactor that constitutes a merger between luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) and flow photochemistry to enable green and efficient reactions powered by solar irradiation. This device based on fluorescent dye‐doped polydimethylsiloxane collects sunlight, focuses the energy to a narrow wavelength region, and then transports that energy to embedded microchannels where the flowing reactants are converted. An artificial tree leaf: A device integrating the concept of the luminescent solar concentrator with a photomicroreactor makes it possible to harvest solar light efficiently for use in photochemical reactions. This tree‐leaf‐inspired photomicroreactor collects sunlight, focuses the energy to a narrow wavelength region, and then transports the energy to embedded microchannels where the flowing reactants are converted.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201611101