Numerical Study of an Efficient Solar Absorber Consisting of Metal Nanoparticles

Chang Liu,De Zhang,Li Yu,Lei Chen,Dong Wu,Zhongyuan Yu,Rui Ma,Yumin Liu,Han Ye

doi:10.1186/s11671-017-2363-7

Abstract

We propose and theoretically investigate an efficient solar light absorber based on a multilayer structure consisting of tungsten nanoparticle layers and SiO2 layers. According to our calculation, average absorbance over 94% is achieved in the wavelength range between 400 and 2500 nm for the proposed absorber. The excellent performance of the absorber can be attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance as well as the Fabry-Perot resonance among the metal-dielectric-metal layers. We compare the absorbing efficiency of tungsten nanosphere absorber with absorbers consisting of the other metal nanoparticles and conclude that iron can be an alternative material for tungsten in solar energy systems for its excellent absorbing performance and the similar optical properties as tungsten. Besides, a flat multilayer absorber is designed for comparison, and it is also proved to have a good absorbing performance for solar light.

Highlights

Solar energy systems have drawn more and more attentions in recent decades due to the excessive consumption of traditional energy sources and seriously deteriorating environment situation
With more metal nanoparticle-dielectric (MD) pairs applied to the nanoparticle absorber (NPA) structure, the absorption in longer operating wavelength increases greatly
With eight MD layers applied to the NPA, an absorbance over 90% is obtained in most of the wavelength range from 400 to 2500 nm

Summary

Introduction

Solar energy systems have drawn more and more attentions in recent decades due to the excessive consumption of traditional energy sources and seriously deteriorating environment situation. Solar energy can be converted to electricity or thermal energy for different usages with minor pollution to the environment. Many high-efficient solar absorbers are developed to improve the energy conversion efficiency in kinds of solar energy systems. Surface plasmons polaritons (SPP), localized surface plasmons (LSP), and magnetic resonances are often utilized to realize near-perfect absorption in those absorbers. Near-perfect absorption can often be achieved in these absorbers within the range of visible light, but their absorbing performance out of this region is terrible [9,10,11,12,13].

Methods

Results

Conclusion