NIR Emission and Eu2+→ Nd3+ Energy Transfer in KSrCl3:Eu2+, Nd3+ phosphor

Solar energy is the most promising energy resource for its advantages of being inexhaustible and pollution-free. The most commonly used, commercial photovoltaic solar cells are fabricated with crystalline silicon. However, mismatch between the incident solar spectrum and spectral response of solar cells is the main reason to limit the cell efficiency presently 29%. The efficiency can be improved up to 38.4% by modifying the solar spectrum using phosphors. Phosphors can convert the high energy part of the solar spectrum into low energy in the near-IR (NIR) region which can be efficiently absorbed by the solar cells, also the removal of UV component from the incident radiation is expected to improve the stability. In this paper we report synthesis and efficient Eu2+ -> Nd3+ energy transfer in KSrCl3:Eu2+, Nd3+ phosphor which can be suitable as a spectrum modifier for the solar cell. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.