ZrC–Au core-shell nanoparticles for efficient solar photothermal conversion

Nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted much attention recently because of their excellent photothermal properties. In particular, nanofluids (NFs) based on core-shell plasmon NPs have become the key to solar thermal utilization. This work proposed an ZrC–Au core-shell NP suitable for direct absorption solar collectors (DASCs). The optical properties of ZrC–Au core-shell NP are investigated based on the finite element method (FEM). The physical mechanism of its existence can be explained by the surface plasmon resonance and localized surface plasmon resonance of ZrC–Au core-shell NP. Meanwhile, the effect of core-shell size on the NP optical properties of ZrC–Au core-shell is investigated based on electromagnetic field distribution. In addition, the effects of length (H) and mass flow (ṁ) on the temperature rise and efficiency of the collector (η) are analyzed with DASC 2D simulation. Research shows that ZrC–Au core-shell NPs with t = 5 nm and r₃ = 15 nm can effectively broaden the solar spectral absorption band, increase the absorption peak value, and the photothermal conversion efficiency (f_v = 20 ppm, h = 15 mm) reaches 96 %, which is 15.89 % higher than Au NP. Meanwhile, the η of ZrC–Au NPs can be improved by ∼8.86 % compared with Au NPs under specific parameters (H = 2 cm, L = 20 cm, f_v = 20 ppm, ṁ = 1 g/(s m)). Combined with the preparation possibility and economy of ZrC–Au core-shell NPs, the broad application prospect of this NP in DASC and other photothermal fields was analyzed.