Incorporation of spherical shaped CuO@SiO2 light microtraps into CuCoMnOx spinels to enhance solar absorbance

Abstract

AbstractCuCoMnOx spinels were fabricated onto aluminum substrates via sol‐gel processing. The aluminum substrates were anodized to produce rough substrate surface, so to achieve diffuse reflection of incoming light. First, hollow copper nanospheres CuO particles have been produced with a size of 715 ± 15 nm. The copper oxide nanospheres were coated with SiO2 yielding to a total diameter of 980 ± 30 nm comparable to the wavelength of FIR light. The resulting materials were characterized structurally and morphologically. The coatings were assessed with respect to absorptance αsol and emittance εT behavior, determining the α/ε ratio. In case of CuO@SiO2 microspheres incorporation into CuCoMnOx spinel coatings, the α/ε ratio reached the value α/ε of 30. The light trapping/scattering effect of CuO@SiO2 microspheres incorporation was demonstrated by the variation of the concentration up to 1 wt% and determination of α/ε ratio. Based on these measurements, the α/ε ratio increases linearly with increasing CuO@SiO2 microspheres concentration.