Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion

Abstract Solar thermal energy conversion has attracted substantial renewed interest due to its applications in industrial heating, air conditioning, and electricity generation. Achieving stagnation temperatures exceeding 200 °C, pertinent to these technologies, with unconcentrated sunlight requires...

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Autores principales:	Nathan H. Thomas, Zhen Chen, Shanhui Fan, Austin J. Minnich
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/81b21e89b33d42878a19b755e5054554
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:81b21e89b33d42878a19b755e50545542021-12-02T16:08:13ZSemiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion10.1038/s41598-017-05235-x2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/81b21e89b33d42878a19b755e50545542017-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05235-xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Solar thermal energy conversion has attracted substantial renewed interest due to its applications in industrial heating, air conditioning, and electricity generation. Achieving stagnation temperatures exceeding 200 °C, pertinent to these technologies, with unconcentrated sunlight requires spectrally selective absorbers with exceptionally low emissivity in the thermal wavelength range and high visible absorptivity for the solar spectrum. In this Communication, we report a semiconductor-based multilayer selective absorber that exploits the sharp drop in optical absorption at the bandgap energy to achieve a measured absorptance of 76% at solar wavelengths and a low emittance of approximately 5% at thermal wavelengths. In field tests, we obtain a peak temperature of 225 °C, comparable to that achieved with state-of-the-art selective surfaces. With straightforward optimization to improve solar absorption, our work shows the potential for unconcentrated solar thermal systems to reach stagnation temperatures exceeding 300 °C, thereby eliminating the need for solar concentrators for mid-temperature solar applications such as supplying process heat.Nathan H. ThomasZhen ChenShanhui FanAustin J. MinnichNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Nathan H. Thomas Zhen Chen Shanhui Fan Austin J. Minnich Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
description	Abstract Solar thermal energy conversion has attracted substantial renewed interest due to its applications in industrial heating, air conditioning, and electricity generation. Achieving stagnation temperatures exceeding 200 °C, pertinent to these technologies, with unconcentrated sunlight requires spectrally selective absorbers with exceptionally low emissivity in the thermal wavelength range and high visible absorptivity for the solar spectrum. In this Communication, we report a semiconductor-based multilayer selective absorber that exploits the sharp drop in optical absorption at the bandgap energy to achieve a measured absorptance of 76% at solar wavelengths and a low emittance of approximately 5% at thermal wavelengths. In field tests, we obtain a peak temperature of 225 °C, comparable to that achieved with state-of-the-art selective surfaces. With straightforward optimization to improve solar absorption, our work shows the potential for unconcentrated solar thermal systems to reach stagnation temperatures exceeding 300 °C, thereby eliminating the need for solar concentrators for mid-temperature solar applications such as supplying process heat.
format	article
author	Nathan H. Thomas Zhen Chen Shanhui Fan Austin J. Minnich
author_facet	Nathan H. Thomas Zhen Chen Shanhui Fan Austin J. Minnich
author_sort	Nathan H. Thomas
title	Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
title_short	Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
title_full	Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
title_fullStr	Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
title_full_unstemmed	Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
title_sort	semiconductor-based multilayer selective solar absorber for unconcentrated solar thermal energy conversion
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/81b21e89b33d42878a19b755e5054554
work_keys_str_mv	AT nathanhthomas semiconductorbasedmultilayerselectivesolarabsorberforunconcentratedsolarthermalenergyconversion AT zhenchen semiconductorbasedmultilayerselectivesolarabsorberforunconcentratedsolarthermalenergyconversion AT shanhuifan semiconductorbasedmultilayerselectivesolarabsorberforunconcentratedsolarthermalenergyconversion AT austinjminnich semiconductorbasedmultilayerselectivesolarabsorberforunconcentratedsolarthermalenergyconversion
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Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion

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