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The luminescent solar concentrator has the potential of widespread use as a generator of electricity from sunlight well-suited for use in the urban environment owing to its adaptability in shape and coloration. The device performance is heavily dependent on the ability to transport light long distances to the edges. A common organic luminophore used in the device is based on a perylene core. In this work, we describe an overlooked effect of UV illumination on the appearance and efficiency of these devices. An additional absorption peak appears upon polymerization under intense UV in nitrogen atmosphere which significantly reduces the edge emissions from the device. The additional absorbance peak disappears after exposure to air, indicating the presence of a radical anion being formed during the UV light exposure. This suggests newly-produced LSC devices should be allowed to stand a period of time under ambient conditions before their performance characteristics are determined, which could have implications in potential future commercialization of the technology.

An amorphous WO3 induced lattice distortion strategy leads to only 2 wt% Ir for efficient overall water splitting in acid.

Understanding how the deformation history affects the retraction dynamics of viscoelastic liquid films can provide a tool to design materials. In this paper, we investigate the stretching and retraction of circular viscoelastic liquid films through finite element numerical simulations. We consider a discoid domain made of a viscoelastic liquid. Its central hole is first ‘closed’ and then released, being left free to open under the effect of inertial, surface, viscous, and elastic forces. We perform a parametric study of film retraction, aiming at understanding the effects of the physical and operating parameters on it. In particular, we consider different viscoelastic constitutive equations, namely, Oldroyd-B, Giesekus (Gsk), and Phan Thien-Tanner (PTT) models, and different values of the film initial thickness. For each liquid and geometry, we investigate the effects of the film stretching rate and of liquid inertia, elasticity, and flow-dependent viscosity on the dynamics of the hole opening.