Abstract

In this contribution we present the fabrication of a solar nanofluid of tin nanoparticles synthesized in ethylene glycol by pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL).3 The interaction of the pulsed laser radiation with the tin immersed in the ethylene glycol promotes the extraction of material from its surface in the form of an ablation plume. Tin nanoparticles are formed from the ejected material and they are collected in the ethylene glycol as colloids creating the solar nanofluid. During the synthesis, the tin nanoparticles are quickly oxidize by the air oxygen diluted in the ethylene glycol. Then, we obtain an oxide shell formed around the metal core. For comparison, we also made a solar nanofluid with commercial tin nanoparticles by carefully mixing the nanoparticles with ethylene glycol at the same concentration. To quantitatively evaluate the sunlight absorption capability of the nanofluid we characterize the transmission spectra of both samples through the time. In comparison with the solar nanofluid made with commercial nanoparticles, the solar nanofluid made with PLAL shows a low transmission spectrum for the visible wavelengths. Consequently, the nanofluid produced by PLAL presents a higher absorption efficiency than one fabricated by commercial nanoparticles. As a matter of fact, the tenth day an increment of the solar absorption efficiency by a factor of 3 was observed.