Tunable Broadband Solar Energy Absorber Based on Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Materials Using Au Nanocubes

Jiakun Li; Zeqiang Chen; Hua Yang; Zao Yi; Xifang Chen; Weitang Yao; Tao Duan; Pinghui Wu; Gongfa Li; Yougen Yi

doi:10.3390/nano10020257

Nanomaterials (Feb 2020)

Tunable Broadband Solar Energy Absorber Based on Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Materials Using Au Nanocubes

Jiakun Li,
Zeqiang Chen,
Hua Yang,
Zao Yi,
Xifang Chen,
Weitang Yao,
Tao Duan,
Pinghui Wu,
Gongfa Li,
Yougen Yi

Affiliations

Jiakun Li: Joint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Zeqiang Chen: Research Center for Photonic Technology, Fujian Key Laboratory for Advanced Micro-nano Photonics Technology and Devices & Key Laboratory of Information Functional Material for Fujian Higher Education, Quanzhou Normal University, Fujian 362000, China
Hua Yang: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Non-ferrous Metals, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Zao Yi: Joint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Xifang Chen: Joint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Weitang Yao: Joint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Tao Duan: Joint Laboratory for Extreme Conditions Matter Properties, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Pinghui Wu: Research Center for Photonic Technology, Fujian Key Laboratory for Advanced Micro-nano Photonics Technology and Devices & Key Laboratory of Information Functional Material for Fujian Higher Education, Quanzhou Normal University, Fujian 362000, China
Gongfa Li: Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Equipment and Control Technology of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Yougen Yi: College of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020257
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10, no. 2
p. 257

Abstract

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In order to significantly enhance the absorption capability of solar energy absorbers in the visible wavelength region, a novel monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-based nanostructure was proposed. Local surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) supported by Au nanocubes (NCs) can improve the absorption of monolayer MoS2. A theoretical simulation by a finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) shows that the absorptions of proposed MoS2-based absorbers are above 94.0% and 99.7% at the resonant wavelengths of 422 and 545 nm, respectively. In addition, the optical properties of the proposed nanostructure can be tuned by the geometric parameters of the periodic Au nanocubes array, distributed Bragg mirror (DBR) and polarization angle of the incident light, which are of great pragmatic significance for improving the absorption efficiency and selectivity of monolayer MoS2. The absorber is also able to withstand a wide range of incident angles, showing polarization-independence. Similar design ideas can also be implemented to other transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) to strengthen the interaction between light and MoS2. This nanostructure is relatively simple to implement and has a potentially important application value in the development of high-efficiency solar energy absorbers and other optoelectronic devices.

Published in Nanomaterials

ISSN: 2079-4991 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nanomaterials

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