AIE-Active Zr-Organic Gels for Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Luminescent metal-organic gels (MOGs) have emerged as a novel class of soft materials characterized by their unique metal-ligand coordination frameworks, which endow them with high functionalization, plasticity, and chemical stability. This study introduces a zirconium-based organic gel (Zr-Gel) exhibiting aggregation-induced emission (AIE), readily synthesized on a large scale via a straightforward solvothermal route. The as-synthesized Zr-Gel exhibits a broader excitation range and higher excitation intensity than pure H₄ETTC ligand, with a Stokes shift of approximately 0.50 eV and a high quantum yield of 84.24%. In contrast to metal-organic framework (MOF) materials composed of the same ligand and metal, the Zr-Gel retains a high fluorescence quantum yield even at excitation wavelengths down to 300 nm. Such exceptional properties make them highly promising as fluorescent materials for optoelectronic devices. As a proof of concept, we fabricated Zr-Gel-based filled luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) that achieved an optical conversion efficiency (η_opt) of 1.70% under simulated sunlight illumination (100 mW cm^-2). For comparison, coated LSCs based on PCN-94 and PCN-128 were also prepared, further validating the superior performance of Zr-Gel and highlighting the significant potential of MOGs for LSC applications.