Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 15, 2025
09:09
Asymmetric Thermoelectrochemical Cell for Harvesting Low-grade Heat under Isothermal Operation
Published on: February 5, 2020
7.0K
Efficient and Scalable Thermal Radiation Management for Large-Scale Thermophotovoltaic Applications
Fan Yi1, Shenghao Jin1, Boxiang Wang2
1Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Nano Letters
|July 16, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a novel spectral management filter for thermophotovoltaics (TPVs) that significantly enhances efficiency by overcoming parasitic absorption issues. The new design is scalable and compatible with large-scale TPV applications.
Area of Science:
- Energy Conversion
- Materials Science
- Optics
Background:
- Thermophotovoltaics (TPVs) convert heat to electricity, with applications in waste heat recovery and energy storage.
- Current TPV devices face efficiency losses due to parasitic absorption in cell arrays, limiting practical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design a spectral management system that mitigates out-of-band parasitic absorptions in TPVs.
- To develop a scalable and efficient filter for large-scale TPV applications.
Main Methods:
- Machine learning was employed to optimize a novel spectral management filter design.
- The filter utilizes only 6 lithography-free layers for efficient and scalable fabrication.
Main Results:
- The designed spectral management filter achieved a commercial GaSb cell efficiency of 20.6 ± 0.13% at 1441 °C.
- An estimated efficiency of 32.99% was projected when integrated with a GaInAs cell.
- The filter demonstrated exceptional tolerance to out-of-band absorptions.
Conclusions:
- The developed spectral management filter offers significant advantages for large-scale TPV applications by addressing efficiency drops.
- This technology is expected to accelerate the adoption of TPVs in grid-scale energy storage and waste heat recovery.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
3.5K
In convection, thermal energy is carried by the large-scale flow of matter. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation, which result from the buoyancy of warm air and water, transfer hot air from the tropics toward the poles and cold air from the poles toward the tropics. The Earth’s rotation interacts with those flows, causing the observed eastward flow of air in the temperate zones. Convection dominates heat transfer by air, and the amount of available space for the airflow...
3.5K
01:05Absorption of Radiation
823
The rate of heat transfer by emitted radiation is described by the Stefan-Boltzmann law of radiation:
823
01:17Radiation: Applications
1.2K
The average temperature of Earth is the subject of much current discussion. Earth is in radiative contact with both the Sun and dark space; it receives almost all its energy from the radiation of the Sun and reflects some of it into outer space. Dark space is very cold, about 3 K, so Earth radiates energy into it. For instance, heat transfer occurs from soil and grasses, the rate of which can be so rapid that frost can occur on clear summer evenings, even in warm latitudes.
The average...
The average...
1.2K
01:19Mechanism of heat transfer
1.4K
Understanding heat transfer mechanisms is essential for understanding how our bodies maintain balance in different environmental conditions. When the environment is thermoneutral, the body is in a state of balance, neither using nor releasing energy to maintain its core temperature. However, when the environment is not thermoneutral, the body employs four heat transfer mechanisms to maintain homeostasis: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. These mechanisms facilitate heat...
1.4K
01:20Conduction, Convection and Radiation: Problem Solving
1.4K
There are three methods by which heat transfer can take place: conduction, convection, and radiation. Each method has unique and interesting characteristics, but all three have two things in common: they transfer heat solely because of a temperature difference; and the greater the temperature difference, the faster the heat transfer.
In order to solve a problem related to heat transfer, first of all, the situation needs to be examined to determine the type of heat transfer involved. This could...
In order to solve a problem related to heat transfer, first of all, the situation needs to be examined to determine the type of heat transfer involved. This could...
1.4K
01:14Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
519
Heat transfer between the human body and its environment occurs through four main mechanisms: conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant...
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant...
519