Issue 10, 2012

Recent developments in high-temperature photonic crystals for energy conversion

Abstract

After decades of intense studies focused on cryogenic and room temperature nanophotonics, scientific interest is also growing in high-temperature nanophotonics aimed at solid-state energy conversion. These latest extensive research efforts are spurred by a renewed interest in high temperature thermal-to-electrical energy conversion schemes including thermophotovoltaics (TPV), solar–thermophotovoltaics, solar–thermal, and solar–thermochemical energy conversion systems. This field is profiting tremendously from the outstanding degree of control over the thermal emission properties that can be achieved with nanoscale photonic materials. The key to obtaining high efficiency in this class of high temperature energy conversion is the spectral and angular matching of the radiation properties of an emitter to those of an absorber. Together with the achievements in the field of high-performance narrow bandgap photovoltaic cells, the ability to tailor the radiation properties of thermal emitters and absorbers using nanophotonics facilitates a route to achieving the impressive efficiencies predicted by theoretical studies. In this review, we will discuss the possibilities of emission tailoring by nanophotonics in the light of high temperature thermal-to-electrical energy conversion applications, and give a brief introduction to the field of TPV. We will show how a class of large area 2D metallic photonic crystals can be designed and employed to efficiently control and tailor the spectral and angular emission properties, paving the way towards new and highly efficient thermophotovoltaic systems and enabling other energy conversion schemes based on high-performance high-temperature nanoscale photonic materials.

Graphical abstract: Recent developments in high-temperature photonic crystals for energy conversion

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
02 Jul 2012
Accepted
14 Aug 2012
First published
24 Aug 2012

Energy Environ. Sci., 2012,5, 8815-8823

Recent developments in high-temperature photonic crystals for energy conversion

V. Rinnerbauer, S. Ndao, Y. X. Yeng, W. R. Chan, J. J. Senkevich, J. D. Joannopoulos, M. Soljačić and I. Celanovic, Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8815 DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22731B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements