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Solar receiver coating development: the synthesis and growth of copper chromite spinel particles across sol-gel routes and calcination profiles
Billman, Julia E.
Billman, Julia E.
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2023
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Abstract
CuCr2O4 is a promising spectrally selective material for solar receiver coatings to improve solar
efficiency. Key requirements of such a coating are its high absorptivity, robustness, and ability to prevent
high temperature oxidation of the substrate. This work describes synthesis routes for the creation of
CuCr2O4 particles that exhibit adequate sinterability for developing robust solar receiver coatings that can
prevent oxidation.
The Pechini and modified Pechini sol-gel methods were directly compared as two routes for
nanoparticle creation. Particle growth was studied by heating the nanoparticles at different temperatures
(650°C, 750°C, 850°C) and times (between 1 h and 24 h) and measuring the particle sizes via laser
diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Phase identification was determined by powder X-ray
diffraction. The kinetics of particle growth observed were consistent with a diffusion limited inhibited grain
growth mechanism. The sol-gel route synthesized through modified Pechini and calcined at 650°C for 3h
produced the smallest (84nm) single-phase spinel particles. The modified Pechini method displayed
evidence of greater agglomeration and produced smaller particles than the Pechini method. Pellets were
formed to evaluate the effectiveness of the sol-gel derived nanoparticles for improving sinterability. It was
demonstrated that CuCr2O4 powders of larger starting particle sizes exhibit low sinterability and do not
form coatings capable of preventing high temperature oxidation of the underlying substrates.
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