Transparent mesoporous materials and devices comprising same
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsAndrej Lenert, Neil P. Dasgupta, Zachary James Berquist, Andrew Gayle
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Abstract
Thermally insulating materials (TIMs) for use in concentrated solar thermal (CST) technologies comprising a mesoporous oxide including a porous oxide matrix comprising a porous oxide and a metal oxide or metal nitride in the form of a conformal layer of the metal oxide or metal nitride on the surface of the porous oxide matrix, wherein the conformal layer completely covers the surface area of the porous oxide matrix, or in the form of metal oxide or metal nitride nanoparticles dispersed throughout the porous oxide matrix, or in the form of a conformal coating or nanoparticles, methods of preparing same, and solar devices comprising same.
Claims17
A mesoporous oxide comprising:
- a porous oxide matrix comprising a porous oxide and having a surface area;
- and
- a metal oxide or metal nitride in the form of a conformal layer of the metal oxide or metal nitride on the surface of the porous oxide matrix, wherein the mesoporous oxide has a thickness in a range of about 0.5 mm to about 15 cm, the mesoporous oxide is amorphous, the conformal layer completely covers the surface area of the porous oxide matrix through a thickness of the porous oxide matrix, and wherein when the conformal layer comprises the metal oxide, the porous oxide is not the same as the metal oxide.
A solar receiver, comprising:
- a solar absorber layer;
- a window layer;
- and
- a mesoporous oxide layer disposed between the solar absorber layer and the window layer, the mesoporous oxide layer comprising a porous oxide matrix and a metal oxide or a metal nitride, wherein the metal oxide or metal nitride is (1) in the form of a conformal layer of the metal oxide or metal nitride on the surface of the porous oxide matrix and the conformal layer completely covers the porous oxide through a thickness of the matrix, (2) in the form of metal oxide or metal nitride nanoparticles distributed throughout the porous oxide matrix, or (3) a combination of (1) and (2), wherein the mesoporous oxide layer is amorphous, and wherein when the conformal layer comprises the metal oxide, the porous oxide is not the same as the metal oxide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.