Selective solar absorbers comprised of plasmonic materials offer great flexibility in design along with a highly promising optical performance. However, the nanopattern generation, typically done with electron beam writing, is a very time-intensive process. In this work, we present a fast, scalable, and flexible method for the fabrication of plasmonic materials by the combination of a deposition mask prepared by nanoimprint lithography and thin film deposition by magnetron sputtering. The fabrication process was first performed on silicon wafer substrates using AFM and SEM measurements to calibrate the deposition time, determine maximal deposition height, and characterize samples. Afterwards, the process was transferred to polished Inconel NiCr-alloy substrates used in high temperature solar absorbers. To investigate the adhesion properties of the nanostructure on the substrate, two different deposition methods were investigated: DC magnetron sputtering and High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS).

Developing metal-based composite coatings with improved mechanical properties and good corrosion resistance has been an attractive research topic in recent years. Graphene (Gr), as a new type of two-dimensional (2D) carbon nanomaterial with excellent physical, chemical and mechanical properties, can be used as a reinforcement to improve hardness, tensile strength, wear and corrosion resistance of metal-based composites. There have been substantial efforts focused on the fabrication of metal-Gr composite coatings via various approaches. Electro-deposition is an effective electrochemical method with wide range of advantages, such as a fast deposition rate, simple set-up with large scale production and relatively low cost. This overview covers the previous research and development studies on metal-Gr composite coatings using electro-deposition method and the resulting properties. In addition, recent work in this area which provides a developed process with industrial production perspective, is discussed.

Energy-efficient condensation of steam contained in atmospheric air has emerged as a solution to the water scarcity. Academic and industrial research works that seeks to develop water collection devices with high efficiency has great relevance for the scientific community. In this work, we aim to show that modified carbon nanotubes forest can remove the condensed drops easier than a hydrophobic and a super-hydrophilic surface. In addition, this result was reached at high super saturation level which is an innovative aspect of this work. The Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes (VACNTs) were grown on steel pipes. We used a CO2 laser and an O2 plasma to perform the post treatments that changed the CNTs to super-hydrophobic and super-hydrophilic, respectively. In addition, the CO2 laser treatment added a second level of roughness in the surface by etching the nanotubes walls. A polyethylene coating attached the carbon nanotubes to the substrate. We experimentally demonstrated a 24% higher vapor condensation rate at high supersaturations levels.

Currently, the main material for the production of solar cells is still silicon. More than 70% of the global production of solar cells are silicon based. For solar-grade silicon production the technologies based on the reduction of silicon from organosilicon compounds are mainly used. These technologies are energy-consuming, highly explosive and unsustainable.

The present paper studies the technology of purification of metallurgical-grade silicon by vacuum-thermal and plasma-chemical treatment of silicon melt under electromagnetic stirring using numerical simulation and compares this technology with the existing ones (silane technologies and Elkem Solar silicon (ESS) production process) in terms of energy consumption, environmental safety and the process scalability.

It is shown that the proposed technology is environmentally safe, scalable and has low power consumption. The final product of this technology is multicrystalline silicon, ready for silicon wafer production.

In light of growing demand and pollution versus a finite amount of resources, electronic waste recycling is a way towards material circularity. New recycling technologies not only face technical difficulties but also need to overcome challenges of feasibility in both economic and environmental aspects. An assessment regarding environmental impacts and economic factors at the early development stages of such technologies is necessary to ensure a successful establishment. A batch lab-scale process using bioleaching to win indium from electronic waste was drafted using recent research in the field. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to determine the environmental impacts in four different categories at the lowest Technology Readiness Level (TRL). The findings were then compared to two existing chemical leaching processes to put them in perspective. Results show that the electricity consumption is the major contribution to environmental impacts. The assumed bioleaching process has a higher environmental impact than the two chemical processes due to its high duration and resulting high electricity consumption. However, the research has also proven, that an LCA during the conceptual phase has a high uncertainty due to lack of data and knowledge about the process.