Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "G. Natta" (SCITEC), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via A. Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy.
Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (RSE), Strada Torre della Razza, Loc. Le Mose, 29122 Piacenza, Italy.
Molecules. 2022 Dec 2;27(23):8464. doi: 10.3390/molecules27238464.
The continuous growth in energy demand requires researchers to find new solutions to enlarge and diversify the possible ways of exploiting renewable energy sources. Our idea is the development of a solar concentrator based on trapping the luminous radiation with a smart window. This system is able to direct light towards the photovoltaic cells placed on window borders and produce electricity, without any movable part and without changing its transparency. Herein, we report a detailed study of cellulose ethers, a class of materials of natural origin capable of changing their state, from transparent aqueous solution to scattering hydrogel, in response to a temperature change. Cellulose thermotropism can be used to produce a scattering spot in a window filled with the thermotropic fluid to create a new kind of self-tracking solar concentrator. We demonstrate that the properties of the thermotropic fluid can be finely tuned by selecting the cellulose functionalization, the co-dissolved salt, and by regulating their dosage. Lastly, the results of our investigation are tested in a proof-of-concept demonstration of solar concentration achieved by thermotropism-based light trapping.
能源需求的持续增长要求研究人员寻找新的解决方案，以扩大和多样化可再生能源的开发途径。我们的想法是开发一种基于智能窗捕获可见光辐射的太阳能集热器。该系统能够将光线引导到放置在窗户边缘的光伏电池上，并产生电能，无需任何移动部件，也不会改变其透明度。在此，我们详细研究了纤维素醚，这是一类天然来源的材料，能够响应温度变化，从透明水溶液转变为散射水凝胶。纤维素热致变性可用于在充满热致流体的窗户中产生散射点，从而创造一种新型自跟踪太阳能集热器。我们证明，通过选择纤维素的功能化、共溶解盐，并通过调节其用量，可以精细地调整热致流体的性质。最后，我们通过基于热致变色的光捕获实现的太阳能集中的概念验证演示来测试我们的研究结果。
