A new material works like a luminescent solar concentrator and can be applied to textile fibers. Thus jackets, T-shirts. etc. could soon function as solar collectors and become a mobile energy supply capable of powering smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Materials capable of using indirect or ambient light for energy generation contain special luminescent materials called “Luminescent Solar Concentrators,” (LSC). They capture diffuse ambient light transmitting its energy to the actual solar cell, which then converts light into electrical energy. LSCs are currently only available as rigid components unsuitable for use in textiles as they are neither flexible nor permeable to air and water vapor. But a research team has now succeeded in incorporating several of these materials into a polymer providing this flexibility and air permeability.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201022123123.htm
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