Nanophotonics (May 2020)

Non-noble metal based broadband photothermal absorbers for cost effective interfacial solar thermal conversion

  • Gong Han,
  • Liu Xin,
  • Liu Guoliang,
  • Lin Zhenhui,
  • Yu Xiaoqiang,
  • Zhou Lin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2020-0168
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 6
pp. 1539 – 1546

Abstract

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In recent years, noble metal-based solar absorbers have been extensively studied as their pronounced plasmonic resonances and high solar-to-thermal conversion efficiency. However, the high cost of noble metals is the unavoidable roadblock restricting the way towards scalability. In this work, we report a nickel-based photothermal absorbers, which is capable of realizing an average solar absorption of ∼97% in the range of 400–2500 nm originating from relatively weaker collective plasmonic resonances but more pronounced single electron excitation. Importantly, it is easily fabricated via the straightforward physical deposition and cost-effective with a raw material price of ∼0.3% gold and ∼20% of silver. We used it for interfacial solar vapor generation and realized an evaporation rate of ∼0.9 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun, almost comparable to the counterparts made from noble metals. The excellent performance combined with the cost effective and scalable fabrication process makes it be a promising candidate for mass off-grid solar desalination.

Keywords