MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Theses - Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering - Bachelor's degree
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Theses - Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering - Bachelor's degree
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Selective solar absorber materials : nanostructured surfaces via scalable synthesis

Author(s)
Rubin, Julia G. (Julia Grace)
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (3.685Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Advisor
Evelyn N. Wang.
Terms of use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Current solar to thermal energy conversion technologies, including concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar water heaters (SWH) utilize absorber surfaces that collect incident solar radiation. However, these absorber surfaces emit thermal energy (at their temperature) in the infrared (IR) spectrum, resulting in decreased overall efficiency for solar-to-thermal conversion. Selective absorber surfaces are highly absorptive in the solar spectrum, yet highly reflective in the infrared spectrum and therefore have the potential to minimize thermal energy loss. Copper Oxide (CuO) nanostructures are a candidate selective absorber material due to high absorptivity in the solar spectrum (about 95%), relatively high reflectance in the IR spectrum, scalability, and ease of fabrication. The aim of this study was to analyze optical properties and thermal stability of CuO surfaces in order to assess its feasibility as a selective absorber material. CuO nanostructures were synthesized on copper via chemical wet processing. Samples were thermally cycled to simulate day/night cycles in a typical SWH application. A cycle consisted of 12 hours of heating at 200°C and 12 hours of cooling to ambient temperature. Samples were cycled 1, 2, 3, 8, and 10 times. Surface optical properties were characterized using Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and compared to optical properties of Pyromark®, the industry standard. Reflectance in the IR spectrum of CuO samples was found to increase after initial heating, whereas the absorptivity decreased. This tradeoff in optical performance resulted in an overall efficiency that remained relatively stable between 0 and 10 cycles (69.5±1.6%, 70.2±1.6%, respectively). CuO samples were found to be roughly 10% more efficient (optical conversion) than Pyromark® (npyromark,3x = 59.5±0.7%), indicating that CuO samples have the potential to be an efficient selective absorber material.
Description
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2017.
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (page 32).
 
Date issued
2017
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111347
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Materials Science and Engineering.

Collections
  • Materials Science and Engineering - Bachelor's degree
  • Materials Science and Engineering - Bachelor's degree

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube RSS

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.