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Advanced Solar Energy Materials: Methods and Applications
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Advanced Solar Energy Materials: Methods and Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 4617

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anna Castaldo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, ENEA Department of Renewable Energies, TERIN Solar Thermal and Smart Network Division, STSN Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
Interests: materials science; applied chemistry; nanotechnology; cool roof materials; nonlinear optical polymers; nanocomposite sensors; thin films sputtering deposition; FT-IR and microRaman vibrational analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Current trends in energy supply and use are patently unsustainable—economically, environmentally, and socially. We can—and must—change our current path and increase our use of sunlight as an energy resource, which is continually replenished, environmentally friendly, and easily usable by means of different solar technologies. There is a need to provide a solid analytical footing that enables the international community to move forward on a well-defined growth path from today to 2050, one that identifies solar coating materials, cross applications, and characterization milestones needed to realize the full potential of different solar technologies. Very often in the scientific community, there is an excessive sectorialization that, in my opinion, is detrimental to the success of the tremendously important goal of capitalizing solar energy.

As the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I am writing to inquire as to whether you would consider contributing a communication, original research article or review paper on new solar materials treating the following topics:

  • Solar coatings for thermal plants working at different temperatures based on metamaterials and metasurfaces with spectrally selective behavior; new intrinsically absorbing materials; semiconductors with tailorable bandgap; textured transition metal surfaces; metal–dielectric interferential filters; cermet-based multilayers with sharp cut-off of optical reflectance between absorptive and emissive behavior.
  • Emerging photovoltaic solar materials including, but not limited to, utilization in devices such as organic photovoltaics (OPVs), dye-sensitized (DSSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made from polymers, molecules, or (colloidal) precursors, among many other material classes such as oxides, chalcogenides, or silicides.
  • Aging of solar materials: modeling, simulation, and experimental tests at the nanoscale.
  • Advanced materials for thermal storage systems: phase change materials (PCM), pure salts, salt eutectics, metals and metal eutectics, nano-enhanced PCM, nanofluids.
  • Antisoiling coatings for solar applications.
  • Self-cleaning solar materials.
  • Catalytic solar coatings employed as alternative electrodes to platinum in the water-splitting process (e.g., transition metal nitrides in HER or OER reactions).

The Special Issue will promote a largely multidisciplinary approach. We are extending our invitation to contribute not only to experts in the field but also to other researchers with innovative proposals.

Thank you for your attention.

Dr. Anna Castaldo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar coatings for thermal plants
  • emerging photovoltaic solar coatings
  • aging of solar coatings: modeling, simulation, experimental tests at the nanoscale
  • barrier coatings for fluids and their subproducts in storage systems
  • antisoiling coatings for solar applications
  • self-cleaning solar materials
  • catalytic solar coatings
  • sustainable building coatings for transparent and opaque envelopes

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7214 KiB  
Article
Effect of Heterojunction Characteristics and Deep Electronic Levels on the Performance of (Cd,Zn)S/Sb2Se3 Solar Cells
by Alessio Bosio, Stefano Pasini, Donato Spoltore, Gianluca Foti, Antonella Parisini, Maura Pavesi, Samaneh Shapouri, Ildikó Cora, Zsolt Fogarassy and Roberto Fornari
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(6), 2930; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15062930 - 8 Mar 2025
Viewed by 612
Abstract
Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is an Earth-abundant and non-toxic material that stands out as a promising absorber for the fabrication of thin film solar cells. Despite significant advancements in recent years, all the devices reported in the literature exhibit open-circuit [...] Read more.
Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is an Earth-abundant and non-toxic material that stands out as a promising absorber for the fabrication of thin film solar cells. Despite significant advancements in recent years, all the devices reported in the literature exhibit open-circuit voltages well below the theoretical value. Identifying the factors contributing to this low voltage is an essential step for increasing the efficiency beyond the recently attained 10% milestone and moving closer to the theoretical limit. In this paper, we present the results of an in-depth analysis of a Sb2Se3 solar cell in the common superstrate configuration. By making use of current density–voltage characteristic as a function of both temperature and wavelength, capacitance–voltage measurements, and admittance spectroscopy, we ascribe the low open-circuit voltage to the presence of a potential barrier within the absorber material near the junction interface Furthermore, it was observed that the junction behavior in the dark and under illumination changes, which is compatible with the presence of deep electronic levels connected with intrinsic point defects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Solar Energy Materials: Methods and Applications)
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15 pages, 3021 KiB  
Article
Bluesil FLD 550 HT Silicone Oil as Heat Transfer Fluid for Power Plant Applications: Thermal Stability Properties
by Emiliana Mansi, Irena Balog, Giampaolo Caputo, Natale Corsaro, Ilaria Di Sarcina, Giuliano Tiranti, Francesco Filippi, Fabio Panza, Nicolò Ratto, Salvatore Sau, Andrea Simonetti, Annarita Spadoni, Anna Chiara Tizzoni, Alessia Cemmi and Marco Ciotti
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 2340; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15052340 - 21 Feb 2025
Viewed by 809
Abstract
Thermal oils have been utilized as heat transfer fluids for several decades in many applications, including industrial facilities, power plants and solar receiver systems. Despite their large employment, very few data are available about oils behavior under thermal stress and related degradation processes. [...] Read more.
Thermal oils have been utilized as heat transfer fluids for several decades in many applications, including industrial facilities, power plants and solar receiver systems. Despite their large employment, very few data are available about oils behavior under thermal stress and related degradation processes. For these reasons, the thermal stability of a silicone-based diathermic oil, Bluesil FLD 550 HT, was investigated in the present work. A laboratory-scale set-up was assessed to perform controlled heating tests, and fresh and thermally aged oils samples were analyzed to determine changes in chemical composition and thermo-physical features. Degradation products in the gaseous and vapor phase were also detected and analyzed by online and offline measurements. The obtained results are compared with the ones present for aromatic oils, largely employed as heat transfer media. Bluesil showed a higher thermal resistance compared to aromatic materials, and, thanks to its low volatility together with a high chemical stability, it was successfully tested up to 500 °C. According to its polymeric structure, thermal degradation processes occur mainly through Si-O bond scission, leading to both the segmentation of silicone chains and the formation of cross-linked species as byproducts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Solar Energy Materials: Methods and Applications)
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11 pages, 3987 KiB  
Article
A Rectangular Spiral Inward–Outward Alternating-Flow Polymer Thermal Collector for a Solar Water Heating System—A Preliminary Investigation in the Climate of Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
by Taib Iskandar Mohamad and Mohammad Danish Shareeman Mohd Shaifudeen
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(23), 11045; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142311045 - 27 Nov 2024
Viewed by 869
Abstract
A flat-plate unglazed solar water heater (SWH) with a polymer thermal absorber was developed and experimented with. Polymer thermal absorbers could be a viable alternative to metal thermal absorbers for SWH systems. The performance of this polymer SWH system was measured based on [...] Read more.
A flat-plate unglazed solar water heater (SWH) with a polymer thermal absorber was developed and experimented with. Polymer thermal absorbers could be a viable alternative to metal thermal absorbers for SWH systems. The performance of this polymer SWH system was measured based on inlet and outlet water temperature, water flow rate, ambient air temperature and solar irradiance. The polymer thermal absorbers were hollow Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) tubes with a 20 mm external diameter and 3 mm thickness and were painted black to enhance radiation absorption. The pipes are arranged in a rectangular spiral inward–outward alternating-flow (RSioaf) pattern. The collector pipes were placed in a 1 m × 1 m enclosure with bottom insulation and a reflective surface for maximized radiation absorption. Water circulated through a closed loop with an uninsulated 16 L storage tank, driven by a pump and controlled by two valves to maintain a mass flow rate of 0.0031 to 0.0034 kg·s−1. The test was conducted under a partially clouded sky from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with solar irradiance between 105 and 1003 W·m−2 and an ambient air temperature of 27–36 °C. This SWH system produced outlet hot water at 65 °C by midday and maintained the storage temperature at 63 °C until the end of the test period. Photothermal energy conversion was recorded, showing a maximum value of 23%. Results indicate that a flat-plate solar water heater with a polymer thermal absorber in an RSioaf design can be an effective alternative to an SWH with a metal thermal absorber. Its performance can be improved with glazing and optimized tube sizing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Solar Energy Materials: Methods and Applications)
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11 pages, 3076 KiB  
Article
Self-Cleaning Solar Mirror Coatings: From the Laboratory Scale to Prototype Field Tests
by Anna Castaldo, Emilia Gambale, Giuseppe Vitiello and Giuseppe Cara
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(15), 6669; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14156669 - 31 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 991
Abstract
In this study, a low-cost, scalable and robust process is proposed as an innovative method for coating solar mirrors with a self-cleaning, transparent in the full solar range and versatile material based on auxetic aluminum nitrides, previously obtained at the laboratory scale. This [...] Read more.
In this study, a low-cost, scalable and robust process is proposed as an innovative method for coating solar mirrors with a self-cleaning, transparent in the full solar range and versatile material based on auxetic aluminum nitrides, previously obtained at the laboratory scale. This work presents the scaling-up of the fabrication process from the laboratory to prototypal scale and the preliminary results of outdoor self-cleaning solar mirror field tests in the demonstrative concentrating solar power (CSP) plant ENEASHIP located in Casaccia (Rome) ENEA Research Center. Prototypes with a size of 50 × 40 cm have shown stability in external conditions: no coating degradation occurred during the test campaign. Their washing restores the initial reflectance affected by soiling and the self-cleaning performance allows for the utilization of a reduced quantity of water for cleaning operations with respect to the uncoated glass of back surface mirrors. A similar self-cleaning AlN coating could be utilized on other solar components affected by soiling, such as the glass envelopes in heat-collecting elements, PV panels and other parts where a self-cleaning performance combined with an optical one is required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Solar Energy Materials: Methods and Applications)
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