Electrical power generation from moderate-temperature radiative thermal sources

Davids, Paul; Kirsch, Jared; Starbuck, Andrew; Jarecki, Robert; Shank, Joshua; Peters, David W.

doi:10.1126/science.aba2089

Cited by 40 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…This band is characterized by a negative real part of the permittivity. A characteristic feature of SPhPs 1 , 8 , 9 is their ability to confine radiation to subdiffractional length scales 10 , 11 , benefitting various applications such as surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy 4 , 12 , 13 , thermal energy harvesting 14 , and nanoscale heat transfer 3 , among others. In contrast to diffraction-limited electromagnetic modes in dielectric waveguides, the polariton wavelength can be continuously reduced by shrinking the dimensions of polariton-supporting materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Image polaritons in boron nitride for extreme polariton confinement with low losses

Lee

Zhang

et al. 2020

Nat Commun

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Polaritons in two-dimensional materials provide extreme light confinement that is difficult to achieve with metal plasmonics. However, such tight confinement inevitably increases optical losses through various damping channels. Here we demonstrate that hyperbolic phonon polaritons in hexagonal boron nitride can overcome this fundamental trade-off. Among two observed polariton modes, featuring a symmetric and antisymmetric charge distribution, the latter exhibits lower optical losses and tighter polariton confinement. Far-field excitation and detection of this high-momenta mode become possible with our resonator design that can boost the coupling efficiency via virtual polariton modes with image charges that we dub 'image polaritons'. Using these image polaritons, we experimentally observe a record-high effective index of up to 132 and quality factors as high as 501. Further, our phenomenological theory suggests an important role of hyperbolic surface scattering in the damping process of hyperbolic phonon polaritons.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Image polaritons in boron nitride for extreme polariton confinement with low losses

Lee

Zhang

et al. 2020

Nat Commun

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“…A near field TPV device with significant enhancement in the power output relative to the far field was demonstrated 177 . Progress has also been made in enhancement of the power density of near-field TPV systems by exploiting both photon tunneling and electron tunneling 178,179 .…”

Section: Near-field Radiative Heat Transfer (Nfrht) Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming heat transfer with thermal metamaterials and devices

et al. 2021

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The demand for sophisticated tools and approaches in heat management and control has triggered fast development of emerging fields including conductive thermal metamaterials, nanophononics, far-field and near-field radiative thermal management, etc. In this review, we cast a unified perspective on the control of heat transfer, based on which the related studies can be considered as complementary paradigms toward manipulating physical parameters and realizing unprecedented phenomena in heat transfer using artificial structures, such as thermal conductivity in heat conduction, thermal emissivity in radiation, and properties related to multi-physical effects. The review is divided into three parts that focus on the three main categories of heat flow control, respectively. Thermal conduction and radiation are emphasized in the first and second parts at both macro-and micro-scale. The third part discusses the efforts to actively introduce heat sources or tune the material parameters with multi-physical effects in both conduction and radiation, including works using thermal convection. We conclude the review with challenges in this research topic and new possibilities about topological thermal effects, heat waves, and quantum thermal effects.

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“…This conflict has severely limited the effective utilization of many sustainable energy resources, especially waste heat, solar energy and geothermal energy, because these resources are often at medium temperatures and thus cannot directly satisfy widespread hightemperature heat demands. Previous studies have mainly focused on utilizing the temperature difference between these medium-temperature heat resources and the environment to generate power [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] ; in contrast, HC-2s present a simple and general approach to utilizing this temperature difference to achieve high-temperature heating.…”

Section: Typical Application Scenario: Upgrading Medium-temperature Heat Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Class 2 Heating Cycles: A New Class of Thermodynamic Cycles

Li¹,

Li²

2021

Preprint

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Considering the significance of thermodynamic cycles in the global energy system, it is necessary to develop new general classes of thermodynamic cycles to relieve current energy and environmental problems. Inspired by the relationship between power cycles and refrigeration cycles, we realize that general classes of thermodynamic cycles should occur in pairs with opposite functions. Here we reverse class 1 heating cycles to obtain another new general class of thermodynamic cycles named class 2 heating cycles (HC-2s). HC-2s have two basic forms, and each contains six thermodynamic processes. HC-2s present the simplest and most general approach to utilizing the temperature difference between a medium-temperature heat source and a low-temperature heat sink to achieve efficient high-temperature heating. HC-2s fill the gaps that have existed since the origin of thermal science, and they will play significant roles in the global sustainable energy system.

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Electrical power generation from moderate-temperature radiative thermal sources

Cited by 40 publications

References 30 publications

Image polaritons in boron nitride for extreme polariton confinement with low losses

Image polaritons in boron nitride for extreme polariton confinement with low losses

Transforming heat transfer with thermal metamaterials and devices

Class 2 Heating Cycles: A New Class of Thermodynamic Cycles

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