Graphene Solar Thermal Film Could Be a New Way To Harvest Renewable Energy (ieee.org) 23
An anonymous reader quotes a report from IEEE Spectrum: Researchers at the Center for Translational Atomaterials (CTAM) at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a new graphene-based film that can absorb sunlight with an efficiency of over 90 percent, while simultaneously eliminating most IR thermal emission loss -- the first time such a feat has been reported. The result is an efficient solar heating metamaterial that can heat up rapidly to 83 degrees C (181 degrees F) in an open environment with minimal heat loss. Proposed applications for the film include thermal energy harvesting and storage, thermoelectricity generation, and seawater desalination.
The 3D structured graphene metamaterial (SGM) is composed of a 30-nanometer-thick film of alternating graphene and dielectric layers deposited on a trench-like nanostructure that does double duty as a copper substrate to enhance absorption. More importantly, the substrate is patterned in a matrix arrangement to enable flexible tunability of wavelength-selective absorption. The graphene film is designed to absorb light between 0.28- to 2.5-micrometer wavelengths. And the copper substrate is structured so that it can act as a selective bandpass filter that suppresses the normal emission of internally generated blackbody energy. This retained heat then serves to further raise the metamaterial's temperature. Hence, the SGM can rapidly heat up to 83 degrees C. Should a different temperature be required for a particular application, a new trench nanostructure can be fabricated and tuned to match that specific blackbody wavelength. "The new material also uses less graphene by significantly reducing the film thickness to one third, and its thinness aids in transferring the absorbed heat more efficiently to other media such as water," the report adds. "Additionally, the film is hydrophobic, which fosters self-cleaning, while the graphene layer effectively protects the copper layer from corrosion, helping to extend the metamaterial's lifetime."
The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
The 3D structured graphene metamaterial (SGM) is composed of a 30-nanometer-thick film of alternating graphene and dielectric layers deposited on a trench-like nanostructure that does double duty as a copper substrate to enhance absorption. More importantly, the substrate is patterned in a matrix arrangement to enable flexible tunability of wavelength-selective absorption. The graphene film is designed to absorb light between 0.28- to 2.5-micrometer wavelengths. And the copper substrate is structured so that it can act as a selective bandpass filter that suppresses the normal emission of internally generated blackbody energy. This retained heat then serves to further raise the metamaterial's temperature. Hence, the SGM can rapidly heat up to 83 degrees C. Should a different temperature be required for a particular application, a new trench nanostructure can be fabricated and tuned to match that specific blackbody wavelength. "The new material also uses less graphene by significantly reducing the film thickness to one third, and its thinness aids in transferring the absorbed heat more efficiently to other media such as water," the report adds. "Additionally, the film is hydrophobic, which fosters self-cleaning, while the graphene layer effectively protects the copper layer from corrosion, helping to extend the metamaterial's lifetime."
The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
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"we need to gas all kikes, sub-humans and towelheads."
Bubba, you have to stay at home for a few weeks, then you can get out again and play with your guns and make moonshine.
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Can't you guys write something newer than that old MacOS Mojave crap?
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Okay you changed a few words.
Write something new from the ground up. You don't shock and irritate the way you once did. GNAA has truly lost its touch.
Carbon (Score:2)
It's not just for breakfast anymore.
DIY Graphene solor cells recipe. (Score:2)
Found this recipe for solor cells on Youtube but I haven't tried it myself yet.
They said it was highly experimental and nobody should try to repeat it before they perfected the necessary steps.
So I strongly suggest nobody else tries it and leave it to the youtube professionals.
1. Take a sheet of plastic wrap
2. Take a bite of your favorite cereal
3. Chew at least 50 times
4. spit it out on the plastic sheet
5. carefully spread it out in an even layer
6. bake it at least 3 hours in your oven
Now look at all the bl
"Graphene" and "Could" (Score:4, Funny)
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The summary's trying very hard to go for bingo too... on top of "graphene".
"matrix", "nanostruture", "metamaterial", "flexible tunability", "self-cleaning", even "3D"
I think I need a shower now, just for typing all those.
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Now let's scale it up and mass produce it (Score:3)
...... ow ...... still waiting for my thin film solar cells to roll out of the factory.
Pre-ordered them about 20 years ago or so.
Re: Now let's scale it up and mass produce it (Score:2)
As per TFA they intend to commercialize this in one to two years. I wonder if one to two years is like fifty years of the past for the current young generation.
So we'll get warmer swimming pools? (Score:2)
Instead of just using a looooong black hose?
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After the Energy Crisis in the 1970s, some people installed solar hot water systems on their roof. There's even a few You wouldn't do that today, but back then photovoltaics were less efficient and more expensive than they are today.
Efficiency is not as economically critical for renewable energy than it is for fossil fuels, but it may matter when choosing a technology for an application. If you could build a heat-generating *system* that was as a whole system more efficient than photovolatics and electric
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Question (Score:2)
Wow it's been a long time (Score:2)
Between Trump and COVID-19 it feels like an eternity since Graphene has been in the headlines. Maybe the world is returning to some kind of normality. I suspect a cold fusion article to pop up next week.
Commercial viability (Score:2)