Solar Thermal Conversion of Plasmonic Nanofluids: Fundamentals and Applications

Abstract

Plasmonic nanofluids show great interests for light-matter applications due to the tunable optical properties. By tuning the nanoparticle (NP) parameters (material, shape, and size) or base fluid, plasmonic nanofluids can either absorb or transmit the specific solar spectrum and thus making nanofluids ideal candidates for various solar applications, such as: full spectrum absorption in direct solar absorption collectors, selective absorption or transmittance in solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems, and local heating in the solar evaporation or nanobubble generation. In this chapter, we first summarized the preparation methods of plasmonic nanofluids, including the NP preparation based on the top-down and bottom-up, and the nanofluid preparation based on one-step and two-step. And then solar absorption performance of plasmonic nanofluids based on the theoretical and experimental design were discussed to broaden the absorption spectrum of plasmonic nanofluids. At last, solar thermal applications and challenges, including the applications of direct solar absorption collectors, solar PT/V systems, solar distillation, were introduced to promote the development of plasmon nanofluids.

Does Particle Size in Nanofluid Synthesis Affect Their Performance as Heat Transfer Fluid in Flat Plate Collectors?—An Energy and Exergy Analysis

“…m and C P are used to depict the mass flow rate in kg/s and specific heat capacity of the working fluid. The coefficient of collector efficiency is represented using F , which can be calculated using Equation (7) [42]…”

“…Their study concluded that the optical properties of the copper@carbon nanoparticle were significantly affected by their radius and shell thickness. The study by Chen et al [7] specifically experimented with plasmonic nanofluids and stated that by tuning their shape and size, they can absorb and transmit a specific spectrum.…”