Oxygen atmosphere annealing treatment of Sm_0.5Sr _0.5CoO_3-δ for spectrally selective absorbing applications

Perovskite-type oxides Sm_0.5Sr_0.5CoO _3-δ were prepared by the solid-state reaction method, and then annealed in oxygen atmosphere at different temperatures between 400 and 1000 C for 6 h. We investigated the effects of annealing temperatures on the crystalline structure, surface morphology and selective absorption properties. Results demonstrate that the annealing treatment plays an important role in optimizing the solar absorbance (α_S) and thermal emittance (ε_T). The optimum sample was annealed at 800 C in oxygen atmosphere for 6 h, which exhibited values of α_S=0.85 and ε_T=0.06, indicating that it is an alternative material for spectrally selective absorbing applications.