Characterization and Spectral Selectivity of Sn-Al₂O₃ Solar Absorber

Abstract:

In present work, tin-pigmented alumina (Sn-Al₂O₃) solar absorber on the aluminium substrate was successfully prepared by anodic anodization and further characterized by different methods. The phase, morphology, reflectance (R) and thermal conductivity of the Sn-Al₂O₃ solar absorber were measured by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyzer, and Ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectrophotometer in the wavelength of 300-2500 nm. The solar absorptance (α) was calculated based on the relationship of the spectral reflectance, R(λ), and the solar spectral irradiance of AM 1.5, I_s(λ), in the wavelength interval of 300-2500 nm. As the results, the surface color of the Sn-Al₂O₃ film was dark-black color. The XRD pattern of Sn-Al₂O₃ films was indexed as aluminium and tin phases. The chemical composition of the Sn-Al₂O₃ films composed of tin (Sn), aluminum (Al) and oxygen (O) elements. The average thickness of the produced films was 18.9 μm. It was found that Sn-Al₂O₃ films showed the low R (0.09) and high α (0.93) values for the whole wavelength 300-2500 nm, corresponding to theoretical properties of the solar absorber. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Sn-Al₂O₃ film on aluminium substrate can be applied to be the solar absorber in solar collector due to high α, which is similar to the commercial solar absorbers.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volumes 675-676)
• Pages: 467-472
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.675-676.467
• Online since: January 2016
• Authors: Titiporn Chorchong, Tawat Suriwong*, Sukruedee Sukchai, Thotsaphon Threrujirapapong
• Keywords: Absorptance, Anodization, Characterization, Solar Absorber, Tin-Pigmented Alumina

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