High-entropy alloy nitride nanofilms via a co-sputtering method enable superior optical performance and thermal robustness

Abstract

• HEN (ZrNbMo-Al-N) films are prepared through a reactive magnetron co-sputtering method. • A tri-layer SSA is fabricated based on HEN (ZrNbMo-Al-N) films. • The absorbers on Cu substrates show high absorptance (96.2%) and low emittance (6.6%). • The absorbers on SS Substrates exhibit superior thermal robustness at 400 °C. High-entropy ceramics are a new class of solar-thermal material with high configurational entropy, lattice distortion, and flexible component space. In this work, we report a tri-layer solar selective absorber based on high-entropy nitride (ZrNbMo-Al-N), which can be deposited on various substrates through reactive magnetron co-sputtering. The absorbers on Cu substrates exhibit a remarkable solar absorptivity of 96.2% and a suppressed thermal emissivity of 6.6%. Moreover, the absorbers on stainless steel (SS) substrates show superior thermal robustness. After annealing at 400 °C for 168 h in a vacuum condition, they retain a high absorptivity of 94.4% and a low thermal emissivity of 9.8%.