High performance selective light absorber based on nickel nanopillar array for photothermal conversion

Abstract

Efficient absorption of solar radiation holds the key to photothermal utilization; however, realizing solar absorber designs with high absorption efficiency remains challenging. Herein, a nickel-based metamaterial selective solar absorber with a nanopillar array structure was proposed to realize nearly perfect optical absorption over a broad spectrum. The average absorbance is up to 96% in the 300–2033 nm wavelength range. Notably, a reasonably detailed analysis of the physical mechanism of the proposed absorber was performed in this paper, attributing the exceptional broadband absorption to the concurrent interaction with surface plasmon resonance, quarter-wavelength resonance, and electric dipole resonance. The absorption efficiency declines significantly when λ > 2.5 μm, with only 20% absorptivity at λ = 6 μm in the radiation-absorbing transition region. This decline is desirable, as it contributes to reducing the emissivity in the mid-infrared range and, therefore, prevents self-radiation. The results demonstrate that the selective absorber possesses the potential to capture solar energy within a broadband, while avoiding undesirable self-radiation, thereby enhancing the integral efficiency of the solar energy conversion system. Moreover, the absorption spectrum shows insensitivity to polarization and angle of incidence. The selective solar absorber proposed here offers excellent performance with a simple structure, showing great promise in the field of photothermal conversion.