Chemically sprayed PbS coatings for photothermal solar energy conversion

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation into the optical and physical properties of PbS coatings prepared by spray pyrolysis on to chemically brightened aluminium substrates. The advantages are low cost, reasonably good selectivity and the coatings' ability to be scaled onto collectors of any desired size. The coatings exhibit a high absorptivity, α ∼ 0·92, in the ‘solar’ range and a low emissivity, ε (100°C) ∼ 0·22, in the ‘thermal’ range. Finally, the photothermal conversion efficiencies of black paint-coated and PbS-coated solar collectors are compared.