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    The anti-soiling performance of highly reflective superhydrophobic nanoparticle-textured mirrors

    Year: 2018

    Journal: Nanoscale, Volume 10, AUG 14, page 14600–14612

    Authors: Jang, Gyoung Gug; Smith, D. Barton; List, Frederick Alyious; Lee, Dominc F.; Ievlev, Anton V.; Collins, Liam; Park, Jaehyeung; Polizos, Georgios

    Organizations: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) [DE-AC05-00OR22725]; Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) within the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); U.S. Department of Energy [DE-AC05-00OR22725]

    The anti-soiling (AS) performance of solar mirrors coated with a highly transparent, superhydrophobic nanoparticle-textured coating has been characterized. The AS coatings were created on the mirror surface by depositing nano-textured silica nanoparticle layers of approximate to 250 nm thickness using a draw-down coating process, followed by fluorination of the nanoparticles in a molecular vapor deposition process. Highly uniform surface features of the AS-coated mirrors (20 x 30 cm(2), no measurable loss in specular reflectance, and water contact angle >165 degrees) provided an outstanding AS performance. A 4x reduction in the rate of dust accumulation as determined by gravimetric measurement of the accumulated dust on coated versus uncoated mirrors was observed. Additional evidence of a significant reduction in soiling rate was determined during measurements of specular reflectance in an outdoor environment test. The adhesion force between a model sand particle and nano-textured coatings in the hydrophobic to superhydrophobic range was also studied. A dramatic decrease in adhesive force acting on the particle was observed with increasing surface hydrophobicity. The results align well with the observed dust accumulation on the AS-coated mirrors. The AS-coated mirror maintains a high reflectivity by shedding dust and resisting dust accumulation, providing a potential benefit when applied to mirrors in the solar field of a concentrated solar power generation plant.
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