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Modeling the solar absorption performance of Copper@Carbon core–shell nanoparticles

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Abstract

The working fluid is a critical component in direct absorption solar collectors. Nanoparticle (NP) suspensions can be used as efficient solar absorption media. In this work, Cu@C core–shell NPs were designed to enhance the solar absorption performance by the coupled effect of the local surface plasmon resonance of the Cu core and the strong intrinsic absorption of the C shell. Results showed that the core radius (rc) and shell thickness (ts) had significant effects on the optical properties of Cu@C NPs. The largest absorption power per unit volume of single Cu@C NP was achieved at rc − ts = 25–4 nm. Taking into account the multi-scattering effect in the NP suspensions, the maximum solar absorption efficiency of Cu@C NP suspensions was obtained as 95.6% at rc − ts = 25–14 nm when the volume fraction fv = 100 ppm and height h = 3 mm. These results indicate that the scattering effect is significant to evaluate the solar absorption performance of NP suspensions and the core–shell size parameters should be considered cautiously for the solar thermal conversion applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Central South University and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52006246).

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  1. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    **ngyu Chen, Dongling Wu, ** Zhou, Meijie Chen & Hongjie Yan

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  1. **ngyu Chen
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Correspondence to Meijie Chen.

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Chen, X., Wu, D., Zhou, P. et al. Modeling the solar absorption performance of Copper@Carbon core–shell nanoparticles. J Mater Sci 56, 13659–13672 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06114-7

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