Solar energy collector coatings from cyclopolymers of butadiene and acrylonitrile

Abstract

Solar energy-absorbing coatings have been prepared from commercially available polymers of acrylonitrile and butadiene by coating films of these polymers on aluminum panels and heating them at 600°F. These coatings are more selective and, therefore, of higher theoretical efficiency than black paints presently used a solar thermal absorbers. Our results show that the selectivity of the absorber is a function of its thickness, and the optimum thickness is below 0.30 mils. This discovery opens a new line of possible research in the design of polymer films as solar energy absorbers.