Design of sol-gel copper oxide based coating for solar energy applications

Abstract EN

Solar energy harvesting is of a great interest lately as it's a clean and environmentally friendly
energy source.

Therefore, Solar selective coatings development became one of the pioneering
research routes nowadays.

Copper oxide based films were prepared by a sol-gel route and
deposited on a stainless steel substrate via dip coating.

The solution was prepared with several
concentrations of polyethylene glycol as a surfactant and agglomeration controlling agent.

The
effect of several concentrations on the optical properties was studied.

The microstructure of the
coats was discussed in details reflecting on the optical properties as well.

In general, the copper
oxide based coats have shown uniform and dark visual appearance with acceptable adherence.

The coats have been successfully prepared and analysed with a promising orptivity up to
96.3% with an optical band gap that varies between 2.5eV and 3.03eV.