Fractal-textured solar absorber coating for thermal collectors
This technology creates highly efficient solar heat-absorbing coatings by electrodepositing a thin metal oxide layer — made from combinations of common metals like cobalt, copper, or nickel — onto a surface, then annealing it to produce a microscale and nanoscale fractal (branching, self-similar) texture. That fractal texture traps light exceptionally well across multiple scales, enabling the coating to absorb 90–99% of incoming solar energy. The result is a surface treatment that can be applied to solar thermal collectors, concentrating solar systems, or other devices that convert sunlight to heat. The electrodeposition process is a well-understood industrial technique, suggesting this could be manufactured at scale without exotic equipment.
What you could build
A high-efficiency absorber coating applied to solar thermal collectors, concentrated solar power receivers, or industrial process-heat panels; primary buyers would be solar thermal equipment manufacturers and industrial heat system integrators seeking to boost output without redesigning the underlying hardware.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense and aerospace contractors (e.g., around the Hampton Roads or Northern Virginia corridors) working on thermal management or directed-energy systems, as well as solar thermal installers serving the commercial and federal building markets.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Ranga Pitchumani, Sibin Kunhi Purayil
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed October 11, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250251175A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology. Email us for an introduction prosim@harbor.capital.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.