Recent advances on lightweight aerogel as a porous receiver layer for solar thermal technology application

Abstract The environmental concern and depletion of fossil fuels motivate solar energy to become one of the most promising alternative sources of energy. Since the efficiency of the thermal energy collection system depends much on its ability to collect ad absorb the incoming solar energy, there is an urgent need to fabricate high-performance light-absorbing materials while reducing thermal losses. Owing to their fascinating characteristics, including low density, high surface area, tailorable chemical structural, and mechanically fragile, three-dimensional highly porous aerogel have generated significant interest as a solar thermal receiver layer for the last decade. In this review, the three main types of aerogels as a porous receiver for solar thermal technology applications and their fabrication techniques include precursor, solvent medium, and drying procedure, are summarized comprehensively. It further shows how their characters are adjustable for diverse applications in the intended fields. Moreover, the fundamental concepts in heat transfer mechanism for porous receiver layers, particularly for the insulating type of aerogel and their properties to enable high light absorption, are also provided to present the extent of their applicability as the solar thermal receiver.