Characterisation of Molecular Solar Thermal (MOST) Energy Storage Materials in Miniature Windows
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Materials chemistry (MPMCN), MSc
Publicerad
2022
Författare
Szolnoky, Clara
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Finding and developing alternative ways of capturing and storing energy which lead
us in the direction of a more sustainable society is one of today’s major challenges.
One of these emerging methods is by using molecule solar thermal energy storage
(MOST) systems. The principle of the system is a photo-switching process which
occurs when the parent molecule is irradiated causing it to form a high energy isomer.
As the isomer switches back to the original molecule, energy is released in the form
of heat. These molecules can be integrated into different types of matrices such
as solutions and films. In this Master’s thesis, the MOST-system are investigated
by incorporating the MOST-molecules or photo-switches in thin polystyrene films
and monitoring the absorbance of the photochromic materials as a function of film
thickness when subjected to irradiation.
The project is divided in to two parts; the first consisting of small scale tests of
the films in lab. Specifically two molecules are investigated, a norbornadiene and
an azobenzene. The photochromic materials are exposed to both LED light using
a solar simulator and natural solar radiation for various amounts of time over a
number of days and the absorbance is monitored to understand the behaviour of
the molecules in films. The second part of the project consists of integrating the
materials as windows on a larger scale in a model house and observing the effects of
the indoor environment of the house by measuring temperature.
The discoveries from the first part of the project show that the absorbance of the
films generally decrease over time with increasing film thickness. When exposed
to natural solar radiation, the norbornadiene molecule showed a significant level of
degradation compared to the azobenzene. The azobenzene was therefore selected
for further testing in the windows of the model house. The experiments from the
outdoor setup demonstrated that it is highly likely that the windows containing the
MOST-molecules have an affect on the heating of the indoor environment during the
night. However, the differences were still small and requires further investigation
with larger concentrations of the molecule.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Solar energy storage , Photochromic materials , Photoswitches , Norbornadiene , Azobenzene