Mangaraj, Pradhan and Mohapatra , Sushanta Kumar and K. , Annapurna and Maharana, H. S. (2026) Structural Integrity of High Reflecting Ag/SiO2 Concentrated Solar Reflector. Solar Energy, 314 (114715). ISSN 1471-1257

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Abstract

A solar reflector with high reflectivity across the 300–2500 nm wavelength range plays an important role in solar thermal systems to produce clean energy. The current study describes the successful development of high reflecting RF sputtered pure Ag and Ag/SiO2 films. The pure Ag coatings with deposition times of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 5 min are named Ag-0.5, Ag-1.0, Ag-2.0, Ag-3.0, and Ag-5.0, respectively. The Ag-2.0 has been considered the optimum due to its very high overall reflectivity (380–2500 nm) of ∼99.54%, and solar reflectivity (300-2500 nm) of 97.6% due to uniform, compact, and smooth nanostructure coating surface, along with a lower average grain size of 33.9 nm, which minimizes optical scattering. The SiO2 deposition with deposition times of 15, 30, and 60 min on Ag-2.0 are named Ag/SiO2-1, Ag/SiO2-2, and Ag/SiO2-3, respectively. Among all Ag/SiO2 films, Ag/SiO2-1 exhibits an equally admirable overall reflection of 94.87%, despite the antireflection tendency of SiO2. This excellent reflectivity retention in Ag/SiO2-1 may be due to the favored Ag (1 1 1) crystal plane, uniform size distribution, and lowest surface roughness of 0.72 nm. The minimal decrement in overall reflectivity (∼2.8%) from initial overall reflectivity of Ag/SiO2-1 even after 2000 h of aging, as compared to ∼7.5% and ∼12.5% reflectivity drop in Ag/SiO2-2 and Ag/SiO2-3, along with excellent hardness of 4.07 GPa and high hardness to elastic modulus ratio and coefficient of friction value of 0.39, indicates good environmental durability and abrasion resistance. Keywords: Solar reflector; Sputtering; Reflectivity; Nano-hardness; Surface topology; Wettability

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Glass
Divisions:	Glass
Depositing User:	Ms Upasana Sahu
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2026 06:55
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2026 06:55
URI:	https://cgcri.csircentral.net/id/eprint/5835

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