Patent for Transfiguring Aluminum Alloys into High Efficiency Solar Absorbers Using Alkaline Solutions
MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was awarded a patent for “Method for producing plasmonic-nanostructure spectrally selective solar absorber having high solar absorptance, low thermal emittance, and high thermal stability.”
Abstract Source: USPTO
A method is disclosed for producing a plasmonic-nanostructure spectrally selective solar absorber having high solar absorptance, low thermal emittance, and superior thermal stability. The method includes the steps of providing an alloy structure containing a base metal and a copper alloying impurity, wherein copper has a weight percent concentration in the alloy of at least 0.25%; and applying an alkaline solution to a surface of the alloy structure to selectively dissolve base metal elements at the surface resulting in fabrication of sponge-like copper nanostructures on the surface configured to scatter, trap, and absorb light in solar wavelengths.
