Breakthrough in Nanotechnology: Researchers Develop Efficient Photothermal Coatings

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Researchers at Chongqing University have made a significant discovery in nanotechnology, developing a new type of photothermal coating that can convert sunlight into thermal energy with high efficiency. The coating, made of vertically aligned copper oxides, has been shown to increase water temperature by 42 degrees Celsius under one sun illumination, and can also facilitate rapid de-icing processes. This breakthrough has the potential to find applications in seawater desalination, evaporation-induced electricity generation, and hydrogen evolution reaction.

Key Takeaways:

  • The researchers developed a novel photothermal coating made of vertically aligned copper oxides, which can convert sunlight into thermal energy with high efficiency.
  • The coating was shown to increase water temperature by 42 degrees Celsius under one sun illumination, compared to 42 degrees Celsius without the coating.
  • The coating was also found to facilitate rapid de-icing processes, with a de-icing time of 700 seconds, compared to 1200 seconds for pristine copper.
  • The photothermal conversion efficiency of the CuO coating was found to be 73.6%, which is more than doubled compared to copper.
  • The coating may find applications in seawater desalination, evaporation-induced electricity generation, hydrogen evolution reaction, and other fields.

Statistics:

  • The CuO coating increased water temperature by 42 degrees Celsius under one sun illumination.
  • The de-icing time with the CuO coating was 700 seconds, compared to 1200 seconds for pristine copper.
  • The photothermal conversion efficiency of the CuO coating was 73.6%, which is more than doubled compared to copper.
  • The coating was made of vertically aligned copper oxides, which were tailored on the copper surfaces by electrochemical anodization.

Sources:

  • "Stepped-current-controlled Evolution of Cu(Oh)2/cuo Tandem Nanostructure for Efficient Photothermal Conversion." Small Methods, 2025.
  • Chongqing University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Lab Mech Transmiss, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China.
  • Yuan Yuan, et al. (2025). Stepped-current-controlled Evolution of Cu(Oh)2/cuo Tandem Nanostructure for Efficient Photothermal Conversion. Small Methods, 2025.