4 ms·
Is the wavelength restriction a blocker though? There's already use of quantum dot film to shift light wavelengths into spectrums more suitable for growing plan
by jjcm 6y ago
Is the wavelength restriction a blocker though? There's already use of quantum dot film to shift light wavelengths into spectrums more suitable for growing plants[1]. Theoretically shouldn't this be able to be used to shift a larger percentage of the light spectrum into the 350-360nm range, resulting in a far higher actual yield?
[1] https://ubigro.com/ https://ubigro.com/
- adrian_b 6y agoYour example converts high-energy light (ultraviolet or blue) to low energy light (red). This process is easy and it can be done with quantum dots, as you say. The reverse process of converting red light to ultraviolet light, as it would be needed for this water splitting, is far more difficult and it has much lower efficiencies, especially when the input light has a low intensity. (The common green-light pointers convert infrared to green, but that works because the input is a laser beam with high intensity, so that optical media can behave non-linearly, and it still has a low efficiency). So no, wavelength conversion would not work. The only thing that would work would be to replace their semiconductor crystal with one having a much lower bandgap, like the silicon, gallium arsenide or cadmium telluride that are used in photovoltaic devices. However any such non-oxide semiconductors would be chemically unstable in contact with the nascent oxygen, so that would still not work.