Polydopamine Nanoparticle Doped Nanofluid for Solar Thermal Energy Collector Efficiency Increase

Abstract

Polydopamine can form black nanoparticles and has recently been gaining attention due to its extraordinary heating properties upon excitation with light. Herein, polydopamine hybrid nanoparticles are synthesized in different sizes and subsequently added to a solar fluid to analyze heating ability. The solar fluids with the differently sized hybrid polydopamine particles are compared to a solar fluid containing food coloring (i.e., micrometer‐sized soot particles, similar to India Ink) and silver nanoparticles. The hybrid polydopamine nanoparticles are found to heat more efficiently than silver nanoparticles or food coloring, respectively. In addition, no hybrid polydopamine nanoparticle deposits are found in the direct absorption solar collector in comparison to the solar fluids doped with silver nanoparticles or food coloring. Thus, this work shows that hybrid polydopamine nanoparticles are promising candidates to increase the efficiency of solar fluids.

From Bioinspired Glue to Medicine: Polydopamine as a Biomedical Material

“…The coated dye-sensitised solar cells were found to perform with a power conversion efficiency of 1.2% [58]. PDA was also investigated for their use as a solar fluid dopant in the generation of solar thermal energy as an alternative to photovoltaics [59]. To this end, PDA nanoparticles, consisting of PDA and bovine serum albumin, were added to a so-called solar fluid whose efficiency was then assessed in a 3D-printed flow circuit using a solar simulator as an irradiation source [59].…”

“…PDA was also investigated for their use as a solar fluid dopant in the generation of solar thermal energy as an alternative to photovoltaics [59]. To this end, PDA nanoparticles, consisting of PDA and bovine serum albumin, were added to a so-called solar fluid whose efficiency was then assessed in a 3D-printed flow circuit using a solar simulator as an irradiation source [59]. It was found that the addition of the NPs indeed increased the efficiency of the solar fluid up to 280% compared to the plain solar fluid [59].…”

“…To this end, PDA nanoparticles, consisting of PDA and bovine serum albumin, were added to a so-called solar fluid whose efficiency was then assessed in a 3D-printed flow circuit using a solar simulator as an irradiation source [59]. It was found that the addition of the NPs indeed increased the efficiency of the solar fluid up to 280% compared to the plain solar fluid [59]. PDA NPs containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) (bPDA/BSA) exhibited superior heating abilities of the solar fluid in comparison to micron-sized soot particles (food colorant) or un-supplemented solar fluid ( Figure 4A).…”

“…Calculated specific heating rate of three different sizes of PDA NPs containing BSA: 'big' PDA/BSA NPs (bPDA/BSA), 'medium' PDA/BSA NPs (mPDA/BSA), and 'small' PDA/BSA NPs (sPDA/BSA) (C). From reference [59]. Reprinted with permission from Wiley.…”

A Review of Nanofluids Synthesis, Factors Influencing Their Thermophysical Properties and Applications

“…This challenge can be overcome by incorporating fluids with high thermal conductivity as the working fluid in the solar collectors to help y fast thereby increasing their ability to absorb solar energy. The working fluids suitable for enhancing the efficiency of these [61][62]. A study on direct absorption solar collectors based on (SiCethylene glycol) hybrid nanofluids reported a 97.3% improvement in solar-thermal conversion efficiency at 1 wt% hybrid nanofluid concentration.…”