A review of visible-to-UV photon upconversion systems based on triplet–triplet annihilation photon upconversion

Due to the tunable spectrum range and potential application under non-coherent solar irradiation, triplet-triplet annihilation based molecular photon upconversion (TTA-UC) systems represent a compelling study field for a variety of photonic implementations. There were studies on the incorporation of TTA-UC technology with photovoltaic technology, which made it possible to further improve the energy harvest performance through the utilisation of the wasted spectrum. However, many TTA-UC studies are limited to energy upconversion within the visible spectrum range. For photovoltaic cells with a higher band gap, which harvest the higher energy spectrum (UV region), an efficient Vis-to-UV upconversion is preferred. The Vis-to-UV TTA-UC system was first introduced in 2006. Recently, more studies were conducted to discover the Vis-to-UV upconversion system with high quantum efficiency and low excitation intensity such as the nanocrystal sensitizerbased system and the thermally activated delayed fluorescence sensitizer-based system. Recent studies in the solvent system of Vis-to-UV upconversion system had demonstrated the dependence of the couple photostability on the solvent and extended the solvent selection to inorganic solvent. In this review, we are reviewing the research background of the Vis-to-UV TTA-UC system and discussing the current challenges and potential developments in this research area.