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. 2023 Nov 10;14(1):7280.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42839-6.

Unraveling the optoelectronic properties of CoSbx intrinsic selective solar absorber towards high-temperature surfaces

Anastasiia Taranova  1 , Kamran Akbar  2 , Khabib Yusupov  3 , Shujie You  4 , Vincent Polewczyk  5 , Silvia Mauri  5   6 , Eleonora Balliana  7 , Johanna Rosen  3 , Paolo Moras  8 , Alessandro Gradone  9 , Vittorio Morandi  9 , Elisa Moretti  10 , Alberto Vomiero  11   12
Affiliations

Unraveling the optoelectronic properties of CoSbx intrinsic selective solar absorber towards high-temperature surfaces

Anastasiia Taranova et al. Nat Commun. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The combination of the ability to absorb most of the solar radiation and simultaneously suppress infrared re-radiation allows selective solar absorbers (SSAs) to maximize solar energy to heat conversion, which is critical to several advanced applications. The intrinsic spectral selective materials are rare in nature and only a few demonstrated complete solar absorption. Typically, intrinsic materials exhibit high performances when integrated into complex multilayered solar absorber systems due to their limited spectral selectivity and solar absorption. In this study, we propose CoSbx (2 < x < 3) as a new exceptionally efficient SSA. Here we demonstrate that the low bandgap nature of CoSbx endows broadband solar absorption (0.96) over the solar spectral range and simultaneous low emissivity (0.18) in the mid-infrared region, resulting in a remarkable intrinsic spectral solar selectivity of 5.3. Under 1 sun illumination, the heat concentrates on the surface of the CoSbx thin film, and an impressive temperature of 101.7 °C is reached, demonstrating the highest value among reported intrinsic SSAs. Furthermore, the CoSbx was tested for solar water evaporation achieving an evaporation rate of 1.4 kg m-2 h-1. This study could expand the use of narrow bandgap semiconductors as efficient intrinsic SSAs with high surface temperatures in solar applications.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. HAADF–STEM micrograph of CoSbx sample.
The visualization of the irregular and rectangular particles, embedded in the micrometric-size aggregate, is highlighted with red and yellow arrows, respectively.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Optical properties of CoSb3.
a Tauc plot and calculation of band gap energy Eg through the Tauc method. b Normalized absorptance/emissivity spectra of a CoSb3 (red line), as well as the normalized AM 1.5 G solar spectrum (orange) and the normalized radiation spectrum of a blackbody at 100 °C (blue). The spectrum of an ideal absorber (green line). The light blue area indicates the emissivity of the present SSA, based on its experimentally measured absorptance. c Comparison of solar absorptance and IR emissivity of metals (Ag, Al, W, and stainless steel), radiative cooler materials (SiO2 and CaCO3), semiconductors (Ge, CdTe, and Co3O4), black materials (carbon-based and polymers), TiB2, ZrB2, HfC, and Ti3C2Tx MXene.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Calculated optical properties of CoSb3.
a Crystal structures of CoSb2 and CoSb3 in different directions (blue and purple balls represent Co and Sb respectively). b, c Real (ε1) and imaginary (ε2) part of permittivity. d The absorption coefficient of CoSb2 and CoSb3. e The extinction coefficient of CoSb2 and CoSb3.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Surface temperature of CoSb3 at dry state under 1 sun.
a Photothermal behavior of wet CoSb3 membrane under 1 sun illumination. b Time-lapse IR images of CoSb3 0.1 g membrane during water evaporation test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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