Photophysical properties of fluorescent PMMA/SiO2 nanohybrids for solar energy applications

This work concerning the photophysical properties of fluorescent nanohybrid films based on poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) doped with coumarin dyestuff and entrapped with different concentrations of hydrophilic nanosilica. Spectroscopic tools were applied in order to determine the optimum concentration of nanosilica for the best optical properties for a matrix used as fluorescent solar concentrator. The optical constants and photoluminescence spectra of fluorescent nanohybrid films showed an enhancement of the photon trapping efficiency and matrix stability by increasing the concentration of SiO2 nanoparticles.