Full-spectrum Photo-thermal Conversion of Plasmonic LaB6 Nanofluids

Abstract Harvesting full-spectrum sunlight using highly efficient photo-thermal conversion materials and nanofluids is difficult. In this study, we prepared ultrastable lanthanum hexaboride(LaB6)plasmonic nanofluids and synthesized highly pure LaB6 nanoparticles using a simple solid-state synthesis technique. Due to their nanoscale size and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of LaB6 nanoparticles at near-infrared wavelengths, the plasmonic LaB6 nanofluids absorbed full-spectrum sunlight with a solar photothermal conversion efficiency of 98.65%. We also demonstrated that plasmonic LaB6 nanofluids can harvest full-spectrum sunlight and exhibit high photothermal conversion performance. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that depicts how a single material can be used for full-spectrum solar thermal conversion, making it applicable for solar thermal energy conversion, photothermal therapy, and seawater desalination.