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A spectrally selective surface structure for combined photothermic conversion and radiative sky cooling

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Abstract

The sun and outer space are the ultimate heat and cold sources for the earth, respectively. They have significant potential for renewable energy harvesting. In this paper, a spectrally selective surface structure that has a planar polydimethylsiloxane layer covering a solar absorber is conceptually proposed and optically designed for the combination of photothermic conversion (PT) and nighttime radiative sky cooling (RC). An optical simulation is conducted whose result shows that the designed surface structure (i.e., PT-RC surface structure) has a strong solar absorption coefficient of 0.92 and simultaneously emits as a mid-infrared spectral-selective emitter with an average emissivity of 0.84 within the atmospheric window. A thermal analysis prediction reveals that the designed PT-RC surface structure can be heated to 79.1°C higher than the ambient temperature in the daytime and passively cooled below the ambient temperature of approximately 10°C in the nighttime, indicating that the designed PT-RC surface structure has the potential for integrated PT conversion and nighttime RC utilization.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51776193, 51761145109, and 51906241).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China

    Bin Zhao, Xianze Ao, Nuo Chen, Qingdong Xuan, Mingke Hu & Gang Pei

  2. Institute of Sustainable Energy Technology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Mingke Hu

Authors
  1. Bin Zhao
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  2. Xianze Ao
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  3. Nuo Chen
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  4. Qingdong Xuan
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  5. Mingke Hu
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  6. Gang Pei
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Correspondence to Mingke Hu or Gang Pei.

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Zhao, B., Ao, X., Chen, N. et al. A spectrally selective surface structure for combined photothermic conversion and radiative sky cooling. Front. Energy 14, 882–888 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-020-0694-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-020-0694-z

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