Nanostructured Ge-based Glass Coatings for Sustainable Greenhouse Production: Balancing Light Transmission, Energy Harvesting, and Crop Performance

We develop six nanostructured glass coatings incorporating semiconductor-based quantum dots (QDs) and quantum wires (QWs) of Ge and TiN, fabricated by magnetron sputtering—an industrially scalable technique used in smart window and energy-efficient glass production. Their optical properties are characterized in the laboratory, and their agronomic performance is tested in greenhouse trials with lamb’s lettuce (Valerianella locusta) and radish (Raphanus sativus). Plant growth, yield, and leaf color (CIELAB parameters) are analyzed in relation to spectral transmission and daily light integral (DLI). While uncoated horticultural glass produces the highest yields, several Ge-QD coatings achieve favorable compromises, selectively absorbing non-photosynthetically active radiation (non-PAR) while maintaining acceptable crop performance. These results demonstrate that nanostructured coatings can simultaneously sustain crop growth and enable solar energy conversion, offering a practical pathway toward energy-efficient and climate-smart greenhouse systems. Here we provide data of optical properties (transmittivity) of the materials used for greenhouse glass coating.本研究制备了六种纳米结构玻璃涂层，该类涂层掺入了锗（Ge）和氮化钛（TiN）基半导体量子点（quantum dots，QDs）与量子线（quantum wires，QWs），采用磁控溅射（magnetron sputtering）工艺制成——该技术具备工业化规模化生产能力，已应用于智能窗（smart window）与节能玻璃（energy-efficient glass）的生产。研究团队在实验室对其光学性能进行了表征，并以羊莴苣（Valerianella locusta）与萝卜（Raphanus sativus）为受试作物开展温室试验，测试其农艺表现。研究针对作物生长、产量及叶色（CIELAB参数）与光谱透射率、日光积分（daily light integral，DLI）的相关性开展了分析。结果显示，未涂层的园艺玻璃可获得最高产量，但多款锗基量子点涂层实现了理想的性能平衡：可选择性吸收非光合有效辐射（non-photosynthetically active radiation，non-PAR），同时维持作物的良好生长表现。本研究结果表明，纳米结构涂层可在保障作物生长的同时实现太阳能转化，为构建节能型气候智慧温室系统提供了切实可行的路径。本数据集提供了温室玻璃涂层所用材料的光学性能（透射率）相关数据。