Plasma-induced non-equilibrium electrochemistry synthesis of nanoparticles for solar thermal energy harvesting

Rapid plasma-induced non-equilibrium electrochemistry (PiNE) at atmospheric pressure was used to prepare surfactant-free gold nanoparticles and copper oxide quantum dots. A suite of chemical and physical characterisation is carried out to assess the as-prepared materials. Nanofluids comprised of these nanoparticles in ethylene glycol have been prepared. The energy absorptive properties of the prepared nanofluids were investigated as a potential additive to the traditional working fluids used in solar thermal collectors. The application feasibility has been assessed by calculating a value of power which could be transferred to the thermal fluid. This work demonstrates an alternative and rapid method to produce nanofluids for solar thermal conversion.EPSR

Efficient solar-thermal energy conversion with surfactant-free Cu-oxide nanofluids

Data Availability: Data will be made available on request.Appendix A. Supplementary material available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211285522011909?via%3Dihub#sec0065Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). High-specification nanofluids can potentially enable cost-effective and highly efficient solar-to-thermal energy conversion. However, their implementation is adversely affected by poor absorption spectral range and stability challenges of the nanoparticles. Here we demonstrate the synthesis, full characterization and application of Cu-oxide nanoparticles with high optical absorption and long-term stability over many months. The synthesis method, based on a hybrid plasma-liquid non-equilibrium electrochemical process, ensures a very limited environmental impact as it relies on a solid metal precursor while avoiding the use of additional chemicals such as surfactants and other reducing agents. We further investigate the fundamental links between the nanofluid performance and the material and optical properties and produce a theoretical model to determine the energy conversion efficiency. The results show that nanofluids produced with our Cu-oxide nanoparticles can achieve exceptional solar thermal conversion efficiencies close to ∼90% and can provide a viable solution for an efficient solar thermal conversion technology.EPSRC (award no. EP/M024938/1, EP/V055232/1, EP/R008841/1)