2020
Near-Perfect Photon Utilization in an Air-Bridge Thermophotovoltaic Cell
Dejiu Fan*, Tobias Burger*, Sean McSherry, Byungjun Lee, Andrej Lenert*, Stephen R. Forrest*, Nature, 2020
Demonstrates incorporation of an air cavity into a thin-film InGaAs cell enabling ~99% reflectance and record-high TPV power conversion efficiency (32%). This work has been highlighted by Chemical & Engineering News and PV magazine.
Plasmon-Enhanced Greenhouse Selectivity for High-Temperature Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
Zachary J. Berquist, Kevin K. Turaczy, Andrej Lenert, ACS Nano, 2020
Demonstrates plasmonic suppression of reradiation losses in a solar-transparent insulator for use in next-generation solar thermal receivers.
Hannah Kim, Sean McSherry, Brendon Brown, Andrej Lenert, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2020
Investigates the scattering and transmission properties of electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with varying morphologies for passive radiative cooling.
Present Efficiencies and Future Opportunities in Thermophotovoltaics
Tobias Burger, Caroline Sempere, Bosun Roy Layinde, Andrej Lenert, Joule, 2020
Analyzes the features and limitations of leading TPV approaches. See our Project TPV page for more details.
Extending the thermal near field through compensation in hyperbolic waveguides
Sean McSherry, Andrej Lenert. Physical Review Applied, 2020
Investigates the use of a solid-state waveguide that is interposed between a hot and cold object to extend the separation distance at which near-field electromagnetic channels enhance heat transfer.
Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion: Materials and Device Engineering
Tobias Burger, Caroline Sempere and Andrej Lenert, Nanoscale Energy Transport, 2020.
Reviews the development of thermophotovoltaic energy conversion and advancements in materials and fabrication of thermophotovoltaic devices.
2019
A.J. Hill, C. Y. Seo, X. Chen, A. Bhat, G. B. Fisher, A. Lenert*, J. W. Schwank*. ACS Catalysis, 2019.
Investigates how core@shell catalysts can favorably restructure at elevated temperatures, producing highly active catalytic sites. In collaboration with Johannes Schwank.
Design of thermophotovoltaics for tolerance of parasitic absorption
V. K. Raman, T. Burger, and A. Lenert. Optics Express, 2019.
Suggests a way to minimize the gap between lab and prototype efficiencies of TPV systems by making them more tolerant of parasitic absorption.
A. Lenert, Y. Zheng, S. Shen. Journal of Photonics for Energy, 2019.
Introduces the special issue and highlights recent developments in the field.
Effects of narrowband transport on near-field and far-field thermophotonic conversion
S. McSherry, T. Burger, and A. Lenert. Journal of Photonics for Energy, 2019.
Looks at how near-field electroluminescence enhances the energy flux in solid-state heat engines and which heat engines benefit from near-monochromatic emission.
2018
Thin-film architectures with high spectral selectivity for thermophotovoltaic cells
T. Burger, D. Fan, K. Lee, S.R. Forrest, A. Lenert. ACS Photonics, 2018.
Proposes strategies for enhancing the spectral selectivity of thin-film III-V thermophotovoltaic cells and evaluates their impact on efficiency. In collaboration with Stephen Forrest’s group.
Optical and thermal filtering nanoporous materials for sub-ambient radiative cooling
H. Kim, A. Lenert. Journal of Optics, 2018.
Proposes a new approach for radiative cooling to low temperatures using infrared-transparent nanoporous materials, and develops a model for evaluating various structures and material compositions. *special issue on new materials for nanophotonics
Optically transparent thermally insulating silica aerogels for solar thermal insulation
A.A. Gunay, H. Kim, N. Nagarajan, M. Lopez, R. Kantharaj, A. Alsaati, A. Marconnet, A. Lenert, N. Miljkovic. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10 (15), p. 12603–12611, 2018.
Looks at the effects of hydrophobicity of transparent aerogels on solar thermal energy conversion.
Effects of narrowband transport on near-field and far-field thermophotonic conversion
S. McSherry, T. Burger, and A. Lenert. Journal of Photonics for Energy, 2019.
Looks at how near-field electroluminescence enhances the energy flux in solid-state heat engines and which heat engines benefit from near-monochromatic emission.
Earlier
Temperature dependence of thermopower in molecular junctions.
Y. Kim, A. Lenert, E. Meyhofer, P. Reddy. Applied Physics Letters, 109, p. 033102, 2016.
*Highlighted by APL: Editor’s Pick
Enhanced photovoltaic energy conversion using thermally-based spectral shaping
D.M. Bierman, A. Lenert, W.R. Chan, B. Bhatia, I. Celanović, M. Soljačić, E.N. Wang. Nature Energy, 1(6), p. 16068, 2016.
*Selected by MIT Tech Review: 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2017, The Biggest Clean Energy Advances in 2016
Spectral splitting optimization for high-efficiency solar photovoltaic and thermal power generation.
D.M. Bierman, A. Lenert, E.N. Wang. Applied Physics Letters, 109 (24), 243904, 2016.