scholarly journals Self-assembly of highly efficient, broadband plasmonic absorbers for solar steam generation

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. e1501227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhou ◽  
Yingling Tan ◽  
Dengxin Ji ◽  
Bin Zhu ◽  
Pei Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Absorption ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Metallic Nanoparticles ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Strong Field ◽  
Local Heating ◽  
Field Enhancement ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Solar Steam Generation

The study of ideal absorbers, which can efficiently absorb light over a broad range of wavelengths, is of fundamental importance, as well as critical for many applications from solar steam generation and thermophotovoltaics to light/thermal detectors. As a result of recent advances in plasmonics, plasmonic absorbers have attracted a lot of attention. However, the performance and scalability of these absorbers, predominantly fabricated by the top-down approach, need to be further improved to enable widespread applications. We report a plasmonic absorber which can enable an average measured absorbance of ~99% across the wavelengths from 400 nm to 10 μm, the most efficient and broadband plasmonic absorber reported to date. The absorber is fabricated through self-assembly of metallic nanoparticles onto a nanoporous template by a one-step deposition process. Because of its efficient light absorption, strong field enhancement, and porous structures, which together enable not only efficient solar absorption but also significant local heating and continuous stream flow, plasmonic absorber–based solar steam generation has over 90% efficiency under solar irradiation of only 4-sun intensity (4 kW m−2). The pronounced light absorption effect coupled with the high-throughput self-assembly process could lead toward large-scale manufacturing of other nanophotonic structures and devices.

scholarly journals Light absorption by marine cyanobacteria affects tropical climate mean state and variability

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1283-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Paulsen ◽  
Tatiana Ilyina ◽  
Johann H. Jungclaus ◽  
Katharina D. Six ◽  
Irene Stemmler
Keyword(s):  
Light Absorption ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Heating ◽  
Light Attenuation ◽  
Tropical Climate ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Marine Cyanobacteria ◽  
Tropical Ocean

Abstract. Observations indicate that positively buoyant marine cyanobacteria, which are abundant throughout the tropical and subtropical ocean, have a strong local heating effect due to light absorption at the ocean surface. How these local changes in radiative heating affect the climate system on the large scale is unclear. We use the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM), include light absorption by cyanobacteria, and find a considerable cooling effect on tropical sea surface temperature (SST) in the order of 0.5 K on a climatological timescale. This cooling is caused by local shading of subtropical subsurface water by cyanobacteria that is upwelled at the Equator and in eastern boundary upwelling systems. Implications for the climate system include a westward shift of the Walker circulation and a weakening of the Hadley circulation. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle of SST is increased in large parts of the tropical ocean by up to 25 %, and the tropical Pacific interannual variability is enhanced by approx. 20 %. This study emphasizes the sensitivity of the tropical climate system to light absorption by cyanobacteria due to its regulative effect on tropical SST. Generally, including phytoplankton-dependent light attenuation instead of a globally uniform attenuation depth improves some of the major model temperature biases, indicating the relevance of taking this biophysical feedback into account in climate models.

Large-Scale Hierarchical Self-Assembly Structures from Gold Nanoparticles

2007 ◽  
Vol 1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nam-Jung Kim ◽  
Hao Li
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Metallic Nanoparticles ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Solid Substrate ◽  
Ionic Surfactant ◽  
Particle Nucleation ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Density Region ◽  
Sem Image

ABSTRACTMetallic nanoparticles may form hierarchical dendrites in the presence of ionic surfactant through self-assembly upon solvent drying at room temperature. With nanoparticle density varying in the drying area on the supporting solid substrate, the morphology and relevant size of the dendrites evolve in different structures. At the region where the nanoparticle density is high, the large dendrite can develop with manifest crystal symmetry. At the low density region, many small sizes of compact crystals can be found, indicating that particle nucleation dominates over the long-range crystal growth. SEM image reveals the ordered stacking of gold nanoplates over the long dendrite branches, resembling the liquid crystal array. We present the possible physical origins to explain the various structures of the assembled dendrites during the solvent evaporation at the interface of solid and air.

scholarly journals High-Performance Large-Scale Solar Steam Generation with Nanolayers of Reusable Biomimetic Nanoparticles

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1600013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changxu Liu ◽  
Jianfeng Huang ◽  
Chia-En Hsiung ◽  
Yi Tian ◽  
Jianjian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Biomimetic Nanoparticles ◽  
Solar Steam Generation

Improving the water transpiration in a solar steam generation device

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-64
Author(s):  
Yuan Meng ◽  
Haibo Li
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Evaporation ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Bulk Water ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Device Structure ◽  
Water Transportation ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Solar Steam Generation ◽  
Water Transpiration

Abstract Solar steam generation (SSG) has been proposed as one of the most advanced techniques to trigger solar energy desalination of sea water. Although many efforts have been dedicated to develop SSG devices, the efficiency remains relatively low. Previous work was mainly focused on thermal insulation film and light absorption. Attention has seldom been concentrated on device structure. Inspired by the manner of water transportation within flowers, we designed an artificial SSG unit which can effectively speed up the water transpiration from the bulk to the surface. Another advantage of such a device is that steam generation is separated from the bulk salty solution and thereby the solar thermal evaporation can be improved greatly. As demonstrated via the desalination experiment, the mass change and evaporation rate under 1 solar irradiation can reach as high as 2.51 kg/m2 and 1.26 kg/m2·h−1, respectively. Meanwhile, the evaporation efficiency is 74%. These values are much higher than those of traditional SSG devices and bulk water.

Scalable, eco-friendly, and ultrafast solar steam evaporator fabricated by evolutional 3D printing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
suyuan zhou ◽  
Shaolong Huang ◽  
Ming Yan ◽  
yaojia long ◽  
Huawei Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
3D Printing ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Water Purification ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Steam Generators ◽  
Solar Steam Generation

Solar steam generation is an emerging technique that harvests intermittent sustainable solar energy for large-scale waste-water purification and desalination. However, the application of solar steam generators is currently restricted by...

Macroporous three-dimensional MXene architectures for highly efficient solar steam generation

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (17) ◽  
pp. 10446-10455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Zhao ◽  
Xiang-Jun Zha ◽  
Jun-Hong Pu ◽  
Lu Bai ◽  
Rui-Ying Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Absorption ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
High Light ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Highly Efficient ◽  
Solar Steam Generation ◽  
Melamine Foam

3D MXene architectures combining the high light absorption ability of MXenes and porous melamine foam exhibit efficient solar steam generation.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional artificial transpiration for efficient solar waste-water treatment

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuqiang Li ◽  
Renxing Lin ◽  
George Ni ◽  
Ning Xu ◽  
Xiaozhen Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Waste Water Treatment ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Photon Management ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Solar Steam Generation

Abstract Solar steam generation is emerging as promising solar-energy conversion technology for potential applications in desalination, sterilization and chemical purification. Despite the recent use of photon management and thermal insulation, achieving optimum solar steam efficiency requires simultaneous minimization of radiation, convection and conduction losses without compromising light absorption. Inspired by the natural transpiration process in plants, here we report a 3D artificial transpiration device with all three components of heat loss and angular dependence of light absorption minimized, which enables over 85% solar steam efficiency under one sun without external optical or thermal management. It is also demonstrated that this artificial transpiration device can provide a complementary path for waste-water treatment with a minimal carbon footprint, recycling valuable heavy metals and producing purified water directly from waste water contaminated with heavy metal ions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document