Strong absorption of silica over full solar spectrum boosted by interfacial junctions and light–heat–storage of Mg(OH)2–(CrOx–SiO2)

Rui Min Hao, Lin Zhu, Teng Fei Shang, Zhi Bin Xu, Qin Pei Wu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Strong absorption of near-infrared (NIR) light is essential for efficient solar energy applications. NIR absorption primarily depends on the surface plasmon resonance of incident light with free charge carriers (FCCs). We demonstrated that S-scheme interfacial junctions (IJs) can substantially enhance FCC density, light-harvesting, photocurrent intensity, long lifetime of the charge carriers and photothermal effects, paving a way for novel light-material design. Abundant S–scheme IJs are constructed in CrOx–SiO2 nanoparticles, which increase the FCCs outstandingly and enhance light absorption exceptionally over the entire solar spectrum. IJs’ construction enables silica to harvest solar energy strongly. Doped with multifunctional CrOx–SiO2 nanoparticles, the photothermal-dehydration conversion and the stored heat of Mg(OH)2 can be improved by 7.0- and 5.1-times upon 30-min irradiation, respectively. The reversibility of the photothermal charge–discharge cycles of Mg(OH)2 improves 19.3 times. The thermal-storage kinetics is substantially improved owing to the reduction of the dehydration activation energy (−15.2 %). Mg(OH)2–CrOx–SiO2 composite is an excellent one-step system of light–heat–storage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number154979
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume497
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2024

Keywords

  • Charge carrier
  • Electric field
  • Energy storage
  • Interface junction
  • Silica
  • Solar energy

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