Efficient gatherer of sunlight based on two-sided bio-inspired antireflective micro-pyramids with PPy/TiO2

Li, Xin; Wu, Feifei; Jin, Yuebo; Zhai, Dongfeng; Liu, Ying; Ni, Caihua; Shi, Gang

doi:10.1016/j.inoche.2019.107604

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…It can be seen in Figure S3 that the reflectivity of dry CuS/CPM is slightly higher than that of wet CuS/CPM, and the absorbance of dry CuS/CPM is slightly lower than that of wet CuS/CPM. That is why the change in the refractive index of the wet sample from water ( n water = 1.3) to CPM ( n CPM = 1.4) is slower than that of the refractive index of the dry sample from air ( n air =1.0) to CPM ( n CPM = 1.4), thus reducing the reflection and increasing the light absorption. − …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photothermal Membrane of CuS/Polyacrylamide–Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Solar Evaporation

Wang

Sun

et al. 2021

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

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Solar water evaporation is an environment-friendly and clean way of wastewater treatment and seawater desalination. However, a solar evaporator based on a hydrogel substrate still needs excellent toughness to ensure continuous and stable utilization while achieving a fast evaporation rate. In this research, a solar evaporator based on a dual network hydrogel was fabricated by double chemical cross-linking, consisting of polyacrylamide (PAAm), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and CuS. By utilizing N,N′methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) and Fe 3+ for a double chemical cross-linking agent, PAAm and CMC (PAAm−CMC) formed an interpenetrating dual network structure, which is helpful to improve the mechanical properties of a photothermal membrane. The breaking elongation of a CuS/PAAm−CMC membrane is 480%. Meanwhile, the hydrophilic network ensured the high efficiency of water transmission and water activation. The evaporation rate reached 1.613 kg m −2 h −1 at 1 sun, and the photothermal conversion efficiency reached 79%. In the process of a simulated desalination experiment (10 wt % NaCl solution), the evaporation rate did not decrease after 10 cycles, indicating the self-cleaning ability and good durability of CuS/PAAm−CMC.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photothermal Membrane of CuS/Polyacrylamide–Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Solar Evaporation

Wang

Sun

et al. 2021

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

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“…TiO 2 sol was synthesized according to the method reported by this research group. 33 A TiO 2 sol was spin-coated on P−Si (2 × 2 cm) at 4000 rpm in three cycles followed by annealing at 450 °C in N 2 for 1 h at a heating rate of 3 °C/min.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of a Three-Dimensional Bionic Si/TiO₂/MoS₂ Photoelectrode for Efficient Solar Water Splitting

Liu

Wang

et al. 2020

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

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Solar water splitting for hydrogen production using semiconductors is widely accepted as one of the most promising routes to relieve the energy crisis and environmental issues caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels. However, the solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency of a Si photoelectrode is suppressed by overpotential, high reflectance, and/or instability in liquid electrolytes. Here, the Si/TiO 2 /MoS 2 photoelectrode with three-dimensional (3D) bionic structure has been fabricated, which can protect Si from corrosion and reduce the reflection of the electrode surface. The TiO 2 nanorods not only reduce the sudden change in refractive index from the electrolyte to the Si surface but also improve the problem of weak interface coupling between MoS 2 and Si, improving the stability of the photoelectrode. The optimized photoelectrode in this work exhibits a photocurrent density of −0.24 mA/ cm 2 at 0 V vs RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode), an onset potential of 0.42 V vs RHE, and stability for more than 8 h under 1 sun of simulated solar illumination. The ternary heterojunction structure of Si/TiO 2 /MoS 2 not only reduces its reflection but also improves its carrier separation and transport, thereby improving the photoelectrochemical performance of the photoelectrode.

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“…All in all, these comparisons indicate that the TiO 2 nano-cones deposited on the planar TiO 2 layer can achieve relatively high performance in both T lum, and ∆T sol . In addition, thanks to the self-cleaning property 52,53 and relatively mature imprinting technique of TiO 2 [37][38][39][40]54 , the usage of TiO 2 on thermochromic smart window applications definitely provides the versatility and maneuverability in future studies.…”

Section: The Influence Of Tio 2 Nano-cones With Different Dimensions mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, TiO 2 is frequently employed to treat pollutants and withstand fogging due to its photocatalytic and photo-induced hydrophilic properties, which can help the windows achieve self-cleaning functions 36 . In addition, the refractive index gradient nano-structure can improve the antireflection performance in the broadband wavelength and imprinting techniques have been widely used on TiO 2 to imprint nano-patterns [37][38][39][40] . In order to achieve the best results of T lum and ΔT sol , FDTD simulations are conducted to examine the best geometrical dimension for the thickness of VO 2 and TiO 2 as well as the height and pitch of the nano-cone array.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-inspired TiO2 nano-cone antireflection layer for the optical performance improvement of VO2 thermochromic smart windows

Liu

Tso

Lee

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Vanadium dioxide (VO 2) is a promising material for thermochromic glazing. However, VO 2 thermochromic smart windows suffer from several problems that prevent commercialization: low luminous transmittance (T lum) and low solar modulation ability (ΔT sol). The solution to these problems can be sought from nature where the evolution of various species has enabled them to survive. Investigations into the morphology of moths eyes has shown that their unique nanostructures provide an excellent antireflection optical layer that helps moths sharply capture the light in each wavelength from a wide angle. Inspired by this mechanism, a VO 2 thermochromic smart window coated with a TiO 2 antireflection layer with a novel nano-cone structure, is presented in this study to achieve high T lum and ΔT sol. Optimization for the key structure parameters is summarized based on the FDTD numerical simulations. The optimized structure exhibits a T lum of 55.4% with ΔT sol of 11.3%, an improvement of about 39% and 72% respectively compared to the VO 2 window without an antireflection layer. Furthermore, wide-angle antireflection and polarization independence are also demonstrated by this nano-cone coating. This work provides an alternative method to enhance the optical performance of VO 2 smart windows. Energy and environmental problems have become critical issues in modern society. It has been proven that buildings consume 20-40% of the total energy used. Most importantly, 60% of that energy is consumed to maintain thermal comfort by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems 1. The huge consumption of energy by HVAC systems is mainly due to heat loss through the building envelope such as the roof, walls and windows. Among these building envelopes, approximately 50% of the energy is lost through windows, so more attention has been focused on energy efficient windows 2. Thermochromic smart windows are widely investigated because of their low cost and passive controllability of solar irradiance 3. Vanadium dioxide (VO 2) is one of the thermochromic materials to modulate transmittance of solar radiation because of its internal reversible phase change from metal (hot state) to insulator state (cold state) at a critical transition temperature of 68 °C 4. The phase change gives rise to an abrupt change of the near-infrared (NIR) transmittance, which renders VO 2 a promising candidate for thermochromic smart windows. To fulfill the demand of human vision and energy efficiency, improving luminous transmittance (T lum) and solar modulation ability (i.e. the difference of solar transmittance (T sol) between cold and hot states of materials or ΔT sol) simultaneously are key for the practical applications of VO 2 smart windows in buildings 5. Many efforts have been made to improve T lum and ΔT sol of thermochromic smart windows, such as chemical doping 6,7 , synthesizing VO 2 nanoparticles 8-11 and morphology modification 12-15. Among the different methods, depositing a planar antireflection layer is a commonly used solution to achi...

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Efficient gatherer of sunlight based on two-sided bio-inspired antireflective micro-pyramids with PPy/TiO2

Cited by 11 publications

References 39 publications

Photothermal Membrane of CuS/Polyacrylamide–Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Solar Evaporation

Photothermal Membrane of CuS/Polyacrylamide–Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Solar Evaporation

Fabrication of a Three-Dimensional Bionic Si/TiO₂/MoS₂ Photoelectrode for Efficient Solar Water Splitting

Bio-inspired TiO2 nano-cone antireflection layer for the optical performance improvement of VO2 thermochromic smart windows

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Efficient gatherer of sunlight based on two-sided bio-inspired antireflective micro-pyramids with PPy/TiO2

Cited by 11 publications

References 39 publications

Photothermal Membrane of CuS/Polyacrylamide–Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Solar Evaporation

Photothermal Membrane of CuS/Polyacrylamide–Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Solar Evaporation

Fabrication of a Three-Dimensional Bionic Si/TiO2/MoS2 Photoelectrode for Efficient Solar Water Splitting

Bio-inspired TiO2 nano-cone antireflection layer for the optical performance improvement of VO2 thermochromic smart windows

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Fabrication of a Three-Dimensional Bionic Si/TiO₂/MoS₂ Photoelectrode for Efficient Solar Water Splitting