1Department of Physics, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 00100-30197, Nairobi, Kenya
2Department of Physics, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana
American Journal of Energy Research.
2016,
Vol. 4 No. 1, 11-15
DOI: 10.12691/ajer-4-1-2
Copyright © 2016 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: C. O. Ayieko, R. J. Musembi, A. A. Ogacho, B. O. Aduda, B. M. Muthoka, P. K. Jain. Optical Characterization of TiO
2-bound (CuFeMnO
4) Absorber Paint for Solar Thermal Applications.
American Journal of Energy Research. 2016; 4(1):11-15. doi: 10.12691/ajer-4-1-2.
Correspondence to: C. O. Ayieko, Department of Physics, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 00100-30197, Nairobi, Kenya. Email:
opiyoc2006@yahoo.comAbstract
A composite thin film consisting of TiO2 (binder), uniformly mixed CuFeMnO4 paint (solar absorber) was coated on textured aluminum sheets by dip coating. The film’s elemental analysis was done using energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) and the surface of the film characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Optical properties of the TiO2/CuFeMnO4 composite film were also studied using computerized double beam solid-spec 3700 DUV Shimadzu Spectrophotometer. Reflectance was obtained by spectrophotometric measurements, and thermal emmittance was determined using heat flux- based technique respectively. Reflectance measurement values less than 0.03 in the solar wavelength (290 nm < λ < 2500 nm) and low thermal emmittance less than 0.016 for temperatures between 24°C and 100°C were obtained.
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