Optical study of perylene dye doped poly(methyl methacrylate) as fluorescent solar collector

The optical absorption of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), doped with perylene dye, prepared by both thermal polymerization and casting methods, has been measured before and after exposure to filtered or unfiltered light using xenon arc lamp or day light. The optical band gap of thermally polymerized PMMA was reduced by doping with perylene dye or exposure to UV radiation. Study of DSC and FTIR measurements confirmed that the samples prepared by thermal polymerization are more stable than solvent‐cast samples.