Light-cured Luminescent Coatings for Photovoltaic Devices

Among alternative energy resources, renewable energies constitute and represent the main solution to face the growing energy demand of world population. The operating principles and application of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices are discussed in detail in this chapter, with particular focus on their use in combination with light management luminescent coatings to improve their device performance. Two main types of downshifting (DS) systems for photovoltaic (PV) applications have been investigated: luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) and luminescent DS (LDS) layers. DS strategies are thoroughly discussed, with practical examples specifically focusing on the use of photo-curable fluoropolymeric systems in different PV technologies. Solar cells based on mono- and polycrystalline silicon (Si) largely dominate the PV market nowadays. UV-curable fluoropolymeric systems are a very promising alternative to standard thermoplastic materials to easily obtain high durability coatings to be successfully employed in LSC and light management applications.