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Updated: Nov 19, 2025
08:44
Fabrication and Testing of Photonic Thermometers
Published on: October 24, 2018
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Measuring temperature heterogeneities during solar-photothermal heating using quantum dot nanothermometry.
Stephanie K Loeb1, Haoran Wei, Jae-Hong Kim
1Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT), Yale University, 17 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA. jaehong.kim@yale.edu.
The Analyst
|February 3, 2021
Summary
Researchers developed a fluorescent technique using quantum dots to measure localized temperatures in solar photothermal systems. This method aids in optimizing nanomaterial-based solar-to-heat conversion technologies.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Photothermal Conversion
Background:
- Metallic nanoparticles efficiently absorb solar radiation, causing localized heating.
- This property is key for developing solar-to-heat conversion technologies.
- Accurate temperature measurement is crucial for advancing this field.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a technique for measuring spatially resolved temperatures in solar photothermal systems.
- To utilize fluorescent quantum dots for temperature sensing.
- To investigate temperature distributions around gold nanorods.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of gold nanorod-quantum dot architectures.
- Utilizing the fluorescence wavelength shift of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots to determine local temperature.
- Comparing temperature profiles with varying linker lengths and gold nanorod coatings.
Main Results:
- Light-induced temperature changes were observed to increase closer to the gold nanorod surface.
- Silica-coated gold nanorods exhibited higher overall temperatures than organic-stabilized ones.
- The fluorescence-based technique successfully measured spatially resolved temperatures.
Conclusions:
- The developed fluorescent technique is effective for monitoring temperatures in solar photothermal systems.
- Nanoparticle coatings significantly influence heat generation efficiency.
- This method can guide the design of improved solar-to-heat conversion devices.
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