Silver Aluminum Research Articles

Regulation to Ag–Al spikes through silver aluminum paste with Al–Si alloy

It is known that metallization of Ag–Al pastes to boron doped emitter of N-type solar cells will reduce contact resistance, because Al will promote forming Ag–Al spikes, providing conductive channels. However, deeper Ag–Al spikes will exacerbate metal recombination and deteriorate cell performance, thus requiring regulation. It has been reported that adding Si to Ag–Al pastes could effectively limit the formation of Ag–Al spikes, but it will increase grid line resistance and reduce conductivity. Based on this, we prepared new Ag–Al pastes using Al–Si alloys, which effectively regulated Ag–Al spikes and ensured electrical properties. In addition, we comprehensively compared the contact properties of conventional Ag–Al pastes, Ag–Al pastes with added Si, and Al–Si alloy pastes. The results indicated that conventional Ag–Al pastes have lower contact potential barriers and better contact performance, but Ag–Al spikes are difficult to control. Adding Si to Ag–Al pastes effectively limited the formation of spikes, but it will significantly increase potential barriers and deteriorate electrical performance. By contrast, using Al–Si alloys can not only achieve comprehensive regulation of the size and composition of Ag–Al spikes, but also ensure good electrical performance. This study developed Al–Si alloy pastes with great potential for application, which were of great significance for regulation of Ag–Al spikes and the development of advanced Ag–Al pastes.

Development of sacrificial anode from Al, Mg, and Ti from iron Ore tailings

ABSTRACT This investigation used aluminium, magnesium, iron ore tailings, and low-carbon steel. Iron ore tailings (5–30 wt% Mg and 50 μm in size) in an aluminium matrix formed the anode. In 0.5 M NaCl solution, the weight loss, corrosion rate, and electrochemical properties were measured. Samples A to E have corrosion rates of 0.43, 0.28, 0.36, 0.08, and 0.11 mm/yr, respectively. SEM/EDS examination revealed the presence of elemental Al, Mg, O, and Si in the anode. The XRD patterns indicate intermetallic compounds such as iron nitride (Fe3N), aluminium silver (Ag-Al), and manganese zirconium (Mn2Zr). In samples A, B, and C, Al and Mg formed a protective coating on the anode, while C and Si reduced passivation and released electrons to protect the steel. IOTs and Mg in the aluminium matrix improve the anodic corrosion resistance. The observed improvements in corrosion resistance highlight the potential of these sacrificial anodes for practical applications in corrosion protection systems.

Electrosynthesis and Characterizations of Aluminum Silver Selenide (Alagse2), Thin Films for Possible Device Applications

The semiconductor thin films of Aluminum Silver selenide (AlAgSe2) have been successfully deposited onto FTO glass substrate using electrodeposition method. AgNO3, AlCl3.6H2O and Selenium powder were the precursors used for sources of Ag, Al and Se ions respectively. Prototype of the films were again made and subjected to annealing at temperature of 150°C for 5 minutes to remove the element of moisture content in the as deposited films. The properties of the films such as optical, structural and compositional were investigated using UV-VIS Spectrophotometry, X-ray diffractometry and Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) analysis respectively to determine the possible areas of applications of the films. Optical analysis revealed that the films have high absorbance in the UV region but decreased in the visible and near infrared regions. The increase in the concentration of selenide ions however decrease the absorbance of the films but annealing tends to increases the absorbance. The films also exhibited very high values of refractive index with minimum value in the order of 2.0 for both the annealed and as deposited samples. The bandgap energies of the films were found to be 1.7 eV, 1.8 eV, 2.2 eV, 2.8 eV and 2.9 eV for as deposited, but decreased to the values of 1.5 eV, 1.6 eV, 1.92 eV, 2.15 eV and 2.5 eV after annealing for the films deposited with 0.1 M, 0.2 M, 0.3 M, 0.4 M and 0.5 M Se ions respectively. The structural analysis indicates that AlAgSe2 films are crystalline in nature with most preferential crystalline plane of (112). The RBS compositional analysis showed that the deposited thin films are rich in silver content. These properties exhibited by the deposited thin films of AlAgSe2 are desirable for photovoltaic devices and for many other optical and optoelectronic applications.

EPR studies and radiation shielding properties of silver aluminum phosphate glasses

EPR studies and radiation shielding properties of silver aluminum phosphate glasses

Phase and properties prediction of Al–Ag binary system using thermo-calc

The temperature phase diagram stability and physical properties of a binary Silver–Aluminium (Al–Ag) alloy system have been calculated using Thermo-Calc 2021b software at a temperature range of 250–1300 K. Six single-solid phases other than the liquid phase, elemental Ag (fcc_Ag), elemental Al (fcc_Al), hcp_A3, cub_A13, and bcc_Ag were obtained from the equilibrium calculation. Ten regions of the double phase were obtained and evaluated. Three intermediate phases were also obtained from the phase diagram with five invariant reactions, namely one eutectic reaction (at 840.00 K), two peritectic reactions (at 1051.22 K and 1003.18 K), and two peritectoid reactions (at 730.58 K and 881.40 K) were equally found. Sixteen regions other than elemental Ag and Al at 0, and 100, respectively, were obtained. Maximum solid solubility obtained was 5.60 Al mass percent at 730. 58 K for Al in Ag and 58.17 Ag mass percent at 840.00 K for Ag in Al. From the temperature–composition phase diagram, the melting point for pure silver and aluminium were equally inferred as 1234.96 K and 933.50 K, respectively, which agrees with experimental standards. These results play a significant role in the processing of Al–Ag alloy for different industrial-related applications.Graphical abstract

Combining physical vapor deposition structuration with dealloying for the creation of a highly efficient SERS platform.

Nanostructured noble metal thin films are highly studied for their interesting plasmonic properties. The latter can be effectively used for the detection of small and highly diluted molecules by the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. Regardless of impressive detection limits achieved, synthesis complexity and the high cost of gold restrict its use in devices. Here, we report on a novel two-step approach that combines the deposition of a silver-aluminum thin film with dealloying to design and fabricate efficient SERS platforms. The magnetron sputtering technique was used for the deposition of the alloy thin film to be dealloyed. After dealloying, the resulting silver nanoporous structures revealed two degrees of porosity: macroporosity, associated to the initial alloy morphology, and nanoporosity, related to the dealloying step. The resulting nanoporous columnar structure was finely optimized by tuning deposition (i.e., the alloy chemical composition) and dealloying (i.e., dealloying media) parameters to reach the best SERS properties. These are reported for samples dealloyed in HCl and with 30 atom % of silver at the initial state with a detection limit down to 10-10 mol·L-1 for a solution of rhodamine B.

Einfluss der Verschmutzung von Reflexionsfolien auf ihr Reflexionsverhalten

ZusammenfassungZiel der Untersuchungen war es, den Einfluss einer Verschmutzung von Reflexionsfolien, die zur Verbesserung der Fruchtfarbe eingesetzt werden, hinsichtlich ihres Reflexionsverhaltens zu untersuchen, was sich auf ihre Nutzungsdauer bzw. Wiederverwendbarkeit auswirkt. Dazu wurden zwei Reflexionsfolien, eine silberne Alufolie und eine weiße Polypropylen Gewebefolie (Lumilys™, Beaulieu, Belgien) – wie nach einem Herbststurm – unterschiedlich stark verschmutzt; saubere Folien dienten als Kontrolle.Mit einem Spektrometer der Firma StellarNet (Tampa, FL, USA) wurden die senkrecht nach oben gerichtete (0°) und die diffuse Reflexion (45°) im Wellenlängenbereich 500–850 nm im Labor gemessen. Bei diesen Labormessungen reflektierte die Alufolie senkrecht nach oben („gerichtet“) mehr Licht als Lumilys, aber umgekehrt war die diffuse Reflexion (45°) dieser Gewebefolie höher als bei der Alufolie, d. h. dass die Gewebefolie in alle Richtungen reflektierte. Dagegen reflektierte die verschmutzte Alufolie – senkrecht nach oben gerichtet (0°) – zwar ebenfalls weniger, aber bei 45° (diffus) überraschenderweise viel mehr Licht als die saubere Alufolie. Bei beiden Folien lagen die Reflexionsmaxima bei 625–640 nm, ohne dass die Verschmutzung mit braunem Boden die Reflexionsspektren veränderte.Bei Feldmessungen wurde die Lichtreflexion im sichtbaren Bereich (PAR, 400–700 nm) im August bei einem Sonnenstandswinkel von 49° in Klein-Altendorf (50°N) mit einem tragbaren Lichtsensor TRP‑3 (Fa. PP-Systems, Amesbury, MA, USA) in 50 cm und 1 m Messhöhe an sonnigen und bewölkten Tagen bestimmt. Bei diesen Feldmessungen reflektierten sowohl die weiße Gewebefolie (Lumilys™) als auch die Alufolie beide überraschenderweise bei leichter bis mittlerer Verschmutzung und beiden Reflexionswinkeln (0° und 45°) am stärksten; die Lichtreflexion nahm erst wieder bei der starken Verschmutzung ab. Beide Folien reflektierten mehr Licht als das Gras der Fahrgasse oder offener Boden im Baumstreifen einer Obstanlage.Die Reflexion von UV-B-Strahlen (280–315 nm) wurde parallel mit einem Optometer X1 (Fa. Gigahertz-Optik, Türkenfels, Deutschland) gemessen, weil sie zusammen mit PAR und kalten Temperaturen die rote Farbbildung bzw. Anthozyansynthese der Fruchtschale fördern. Die senkrecht nach oben gerichtete (0°) UV‑B Reflexion der Alufolie überstieg sowohl an wolkenlosen als auch bedeckten Herbsttagen die der Gewebefolie (Lumilys™). Wie erwartet, nahm die direkte (0°) UV-B-Reflexion von Aluminiumfolie mit der Verschmutzung des Bodens bis zu einem gewissen Grad ab, während die Reflexion von Gewebefolien mit der Verschmutzung des Bodens unerwartet zunahm.Die Oberflächenrauheit der Reflexionsfolien wurde – in Abhängigkeit vom Verschmutzungsgrad – mit einem Profilometer vom Typ VR-5200 (Fa. Keyence, Osaka, Japan) untersucht. Der aus Falschfarbenbildern abgeleitete Rauheitsindex Sa stieg von 22 µm der sauberen auf 28 µm bei der verschmutzten Gewebefolie Lumilys™, aber von 2 µm bei der sauberen auf 11 µm der verschmutzten Alufolie und erklärte somit den Reflexionsanstieg bei leichter und mittlerer Verschmutzung.Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass eine leichte (2–3 g Boden/m2) und mittlere (4–12 g Boden/m2) Verschmutzung die diffuse Reflexion von PAR (400–700 nm) und UV‑B (280–315 nm) Strahlung der Gewebefolie (Lumilys™) sowie der Alufolie sogar erhöhen kann, sodass z. B. die Gewebefolie auch bei leichter Verschmutzung nochmals verwendet werden kann, während erst die starke Verschmutzung (24–51 g Boden/m2) die Lichtreflexion mindert.

Stochastic structure of metal prices: Evidence from fractional integration non-linearities and breaks

This paper investigates the long memory properties of the prices series of two major precious metals (gold and silver) and six non-precious metals (aluminium, copper, lead, zinc, tin and nickel) by using a fractional integration modelling framework, while controlling for structural breaks and non-linearities. We use daily data in a range from November 01, 2007 to March 20, 2020. From the results, Copper and Tin exhibit a very small degree of mean reversion. However, if autocorrelation is permitted, the unit root null hypothesis cannot be rejected in any of the series. We also account for structural breaks and non-linearities. We observe that all the series under investigation are exposed to multiple breaks. Results obtained under white noise errors shows some evidence of mean reversion for silver aluminium, copper, tin and zinc in some of the subsamples. However, under the assumption of Bloomfield autocorrelated errors the confidence intervals are so wide that we cannot confirm this evidence in any single case.

Tailoring of ternary nanocomposite films of poly(vinyl alcohol)/AgAlO2@reduced graphene oxide: An active material for flexible supercapacitors

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/silver aluminium oxide (AgAlO2)@reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites (NCs) as flexible supercapacitor electrodes were fabricated via an eco-friendly and scalable solution casting approach. The crystallinity and morphological characteristics of the developed NCs were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties were analysed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The electrochemical performance of PVA/AgAlO2@rGO NCs as a supercapacitor electrode material was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies. PVA/AgAlO2@rGO NCs showed wide operating potential windows (1.2 ​V) which can greatly enhance their capacitive behaviour. The highest specific capacitance obtained was 273.4 ​F ​g−1 in the case of 2 ​wt % AgAlO2@rGO loaded PVA NC as compared to pristine PVA (6.04 ​F ​g−1). These NCs exhibited superior performance with the energy density (13.8 Whkg−1) and power density (150 ​W ​kg−1) at 0.5 ​A ​g−1 respectively. PVA/AgAlO2@rGO NCs exhibited the negligible equivalent series resistance and charge transfer resistance as an indication of excellent charge propagation at the interface between an electrolyte and an electrode. The NCs showed good capacity retention of 86.18% even after 1000 cycles. The NCs comprising of AgAlO2 NPs exhibited better specific capacitance than reduced graphene oxide incorporated PVA NCs, thus constituting a new approach for fabricating supercapacitors electrodes.

1H NMR characterization of complexation of Glutathione with silver and aluminum metals in aqueous solution

Metallo-elements have both pharmacological and toxic effects on plants, animals and humans. These are considered as a major public health issue worldwide. In particular, heavy metals such as silver (Ag) and aluminum (Al) are environmentally widespread, and their relative toxicity can lead to numerous pathologies such as nephropathy, cancers, vascular and skin diseases. The goal of this study was to examine the behavioral effects of Ag and Al salts (i.e. Silver nitrate and Aluminum sulfate) on glutathione (GSH), a potent oxidant in biological mixtures. We also aimed to suggest mechanisms of action of thiolate complexed to these metallo-elements in competitive studies with Ellman’s reagent (5,5’-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid aka ESSE). By proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, detailed titrations were carried out for these metal thiols interactions in the presence of ESSE in order to elucidate first equilibrium and possible second equilibrium. We found by 1H NMR spectroscopy that GSH binds to Ag and Al, which highlighted possible in-vivo chelation mechanisms of GSH toward these toxic metallo-elements.

Hydrogen storage via silver–aluminum bimetallic nanoparticle supported on different shapes defect on carbon nanotube

Molecular dynamics simulation has been performed for H2 gas adsorption for silver nanoparticle supported on different shapes of defect in carbon nanotube (CNT). Square, rectangle and line defects in CNT has been investigated for H2 gas adsorption for silver nanoparticle supported on CNT. Different Size of silver nanoparticle, aluminum doping in silver nanoparticle and different temperature has been investigated for H2 storage on silver nanoparticle supported in CNT with different defect shapes. Diffusion coefficient for silver nanoparticle supported on square defect shapes of CNT is more than diffusion coefficient of silver nanoparticle supported on other defect shapes of CNT. Irreversibility structure is observed in silver nanoparticle supported on all shapes defect of CNT and irreversibility structure for silver supported in line defect shapes of CNT is more strong than other defect shapes of CNT. There is none monotonic behavior for H2 adsorption as a function of Aluminum doping on surface of silver-aluminum bimetallic nanocluster on square and line defect shapes of CNT. In current case study, by engineering the size of Aluminum nanoparticle, it is possible to reach certain international standards goals for H2 storage which is set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

Hydrothermal performance of single and hybrid nanofluids in Left-Right and Up-Down wavy microchannels using two-phase mixture approach

The aim of this study is to explore the hydrothermal attributes of three types of nanofluid containing the silver nanoparticles, aluminum oxide nanoparticles, and hybrid silver–aluminum oxide nanoparticles in two different types of microchannel, namely Left-Right and Up-Down wavy microchannels. The multi-phase mixture model is utilized to numerically simulate the flow at constant pumping powers. The results unmask that the secondary flow formed due to the wavy structure is more severe for the Left-Right wavy microchannel compared to the Up-Down one. Also, a maximum 330% enhancement in the convective heat transfer coefficient was observed for the Up-Down wavy microchannel working with the silver nanofluid, while the same value for the Left-Right one was 200%. Although the impact of using the nanofluids is more dominant for the Up-Down wavy microchannel, the Left-Right one exhibited better cooling performance in terms of the Nusselt number. It was observed that utilizing the nanofluids has minor impact on improving the bottom surface temperature uniformity for the Left-Right wavy microchannel, while for the Up-Down one this effect is more dominant. Lower amounts of thermal resistance were obtained in the case of using the nanofluids for both wavy structures, with more impact on the Up-Down one.

Influence of Heat Treatment on the Corrosion Behaviour of Aluminium Silver Nano Particle/Calcium Carbonate Composite

Corrosion is one of the leading sources of material failure and deterioration in society. Scholars have proposed different techniques to mitigate corrosion. This research study explores and validates one of these techniques. An Aluminium metal matrix (AMC) was produced using the stir casting method with various weight percentages of AgNp and CaCO3 reinforcements. Heat treatment was performed on the samples to enhance the metallurgical and corrosion properties of the materials. The corrosion rate of the AMC samples was tested in different corrosive media (neutral and acidic) with different concentrations using the weight loss analysis technique for several days. It was observed that the corrosion rate of the AMC relies on the nature of the electrolyte and the percentage concentration of this electrolyte. The heat treatment improves the corrosion resistance of the AMC samples. In addition, an increase in the % weight composition of the reinforcement (AgNp + CaCO3) results in a reduction in the corrosion rate of the AMC in both corrosive media. The optimal %weight composition was found to be 4% for the hybrid reinforcement of AgNp + CaCO3 and 6% for the CaCO3 reinforcement in both the untreated and heat-treated samples.

Microstructural Features and Properties of Al-Cu-Mg Alloy Containing Silver and Cerium

The article presents the results of an investigation of microstructural features and mechanical characteristics of Al-5.0Cu-0.5Mg alloy containing up to 0.4 wt. % Ag and up to 0.1 wt. % Ce. The experiment was conducted using optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy as well as an electron probe micro-analyzer and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Samples in cast condition and after heat treatment were examined. The melting temperatures of non-equilibrium eutectics (non-equilibrium solidus), equilibrium solidus and liquidus were determined. The optimal temperature of the homogenizing heat treatment was determined, which was 500°C. Using this heat treatment mode resulted in the elimination of dendritic segregation and complete dissolution of silver in aluminum. Injection of cerium into the Al-Cu-Mg-Ag system during crystallization of the melt is accompanied by the formation of a coarse four-component phase, which has the morphology of polyhedrons, is on the grain boundaries. The estimation of the relation between microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties of the alloy has been made.

Controllable preparation of silver nano-bowl coatings for suppressing secondary electron emission

Multipactor leads to the unrepairable damage to high-power microwave devices in the satellite. Restraining the secondary electron yield (SEY) is an effective method to suppress the multipactor of microwave devices. In this work, silver nano-bowl coating was fabricated via electrodeposition in AgNO3 electrolyte at room temperature on the surface of silver-plated aluminum alloy using the monolayer colloidal crystal of polystyrene (PS) spheres as templates. The scanning electron microscope images show that the surface structure of the silver-plated aluminum alloy sample could be modulated by altering the deposition time and adjusting the size of the PS spheres. And the pore diameter and the aspect ratio of the nano-bowl have a great influence on the SEY of the silver nano-bowl coating. When the size of the PS spheres is 2000 nm and the electrochemical deposition time is 90 min, the maximum value of SEY value of silver nano-bowl coating drastically decreases by 39.3% from 2.44 to 1.48, compared with that of the initial silver aluminum alloy samples. The silver nano-bowl coating shows great multipactor suppression for potential application in a satellite.

High-Dynamic-Range Chipless Microwave Resonator-Based Strain Sensor

Microwave split-ring resonators are utilized as sensors in a wide variety of applications due to their remarkable features, such as extremely low cost, high sensitivity, and relatively high quality factor. In this article, another application is enabled according to a recently demonstrated chipless tag-reader structure providing the possibility of simplifying the sensor structure from a “multilayer structure” consisting of a dielectric substrate sandwiched between two metallic layers to a single-layer structure formed from a conductive material. This capability is specifically important for strain sensing applications as it brings the possibility of utilizing low stiff conductive materials instead of copper (which is the primary material used in microwave application) while keeping the reader structure with high-quality microwave application-specified substrates intact. With the explained approach in this work, a low tensile silver–aluminum silicone elastomer conductive material is considered for the tag providing a very high tensile dynamic range. According to the whole sensing system structure, as high elongation range of as 20% and the high sensitivity in the range of 25 MHz/1% of strain is achieved. Multiple simulations and experimental results support the idea of the novel microwave strain sensor proposed in this work.

Influence of Co-Sputtered Ag:Al Ultra-Thin Layers in Transparent V2O5/Ag:Al/AZO Hole-Selective Electrodes for Silicon Solar Cells.

As optoelectronic devices continue to improve, control over film thickness has become crucial, especially in applications that require ultra-thin films. A variety of undesired effects may arise depending on the specific growth mechanism of each material, for instance a percolation threshold thickness is present in Volmer-Webber growth of materials such as silver. In this paper, we explore the introduction of aluminum in silver films as a mechanism to grow ultrathin metallic films of high transparency and low sheet resistance, suitable for many optoelectronic applications. Furthermore, we implemented such ultra-thin metallic films in Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric (DMD) structures based on Aluminum-doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) as the dielectric with an ultra-thin silver aluminum (Ag:Al) metallic interlayer. The multilayer structures were deposited by magnetron sputtering, which offers an industrial advantage and superior reliability over thermally evaporated DMDs. Finally, we tested the optimized DMD structures as a front contact for n-type silicon solar cells by introducing a hole-selective vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) dielectric layer.

Improving Efficiency and Stability of Organic Solar Cell

Efficiency and stability are the main challenges of organic solar cells. In this research novel structure is investigated for organic solar cell which has improved efficiency and improved stability. Blend of PTB7 and PCBM elements was used for the active layer of cell. Thickness of this layer was varied from 80nm to 200nm and selected the optimized thickness of 90nm. On which the cell has maximum efficiency of 12.24 %. The influence of window layer material such as Zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) with various electrode materials including Indium tin oxide (ITO), Fluorine tin oxide (FTO), aluminum (Al) Silver (Ag) and Gold (Au) with different combinations have been investigated with the objective to enhance the absorption and PCE of the cell. Also varied the thicknesses of these different layers and selected the optimized thickness on which the cell had maximum efficiency. The structure of the proposed scheme was observed with ITO/Al as top and bottom electrode with thicknesses of 125nm and 100nm respectively and found that this holds the highest performance parameters including Jsc=0.130(mA/m2), Voc= 1 (V), FF=94.1% and ƞ=12.24% respectively as compared to different electrode combination and window layers with the same photoactive absorber material PTB7: PCBM. This indicates that the proposed structure can be a good choice for replacing less efficient in-organic cell.

Analysis of Contact Reaction Phenomenon between Aluminum–Silver and p+ Diffused Layer for n-Type c-Si Solar Cell Applications

In this study, the contact mechanism between Ag–Al and Si and the change in contact resistance (Rc) were analyzed by varying the firing profile. The front electrode of an n-type c-Si solar cell was formed through a screen-printing process using Ag–Al paste. Rc was measured by varying the belt speed and peak temperature of the fast-firing furnace. Rc value of 6.98 mΩ-cm−2 was obtained for an optimal fast-firing profile with 865 °C peak temperature and 110 inches per min belt speed. The contact phenomenon and the influence of impurities between the front-electrode–Si interface and firing conditions were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The EDS analysis revealed that the peak firing temperature at 865 °C exhibited a low atomic weight percentage of Al (0.72 and 0.36%) because Al was involved in the formation of alloy of Si with the front electrode. Based on the optimal results, a solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 19.46% was obtained.

A solar thermal experiment with parabolic dish solar cookers for developing countries

A solar thermal experiment for the thermal performance evaluation of parabolic dish solar cookers suitable for developing countries is presented. Three different solar cooking pots are compared experimentally using three different cooking fluids, namely water, sunflower oil and olive oil. The heating experiments are carried using three identical parabolic dish solar cookers. The mass of the fluid load used in the experimental tests is 2.5 kg, on each test day. The pots that are experimentally tested under Mahikeng, South Africa, conditions are a black stainless steel pot, an aluminium silver pot and a copper pot. The stainless steel black pot shows higher temperatures as compared to the other pots. Higher energy efficiency values are also obtained with the parabolic dish solar cooker using the black stainless steel pot. The absorbing colour of the cooking pot has a more significant effect on the cooking performance than thermal conductivity of the pot. The best heat transfer fluid which obtains higher temperatures and higher cooking efficiencies is sunflower oil. The aluminium silver pot shows the lowest energy efficiencies in almost of all of the experiments. For Mahikeng conditions, the greatest cooking potential in terms of the speed of cooking is shown by the black pot using sunflower oil as the heat transfer fluid. The thermal performance in the cooking experiments is affected by ambient conditions and manual solar tracking. To shorten cooking times, a larger parabolic dish solar cooker can be used.