Novel boride-enhanced solar salts: Thermophysical and structural properties for thermal energy storage

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dc.contributor.authorGurgenc, Ezgi
dc.contributor.authorOztop, Hakan F.
dc.contributor.authorYamac, Halil Ibrahim
dc.contributor.authorCanbay, Canan Aksu
dc.contributor.authorSenocak, Safak Melih
dc.contributor.authorOzabaci, Murat
dc.contributor.authorGur, Muhammed
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-04T13:35:08Z
dc.date.available2026-04-04T13:35:08Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.departmentİnönü Üniversitesi
dc.description.abstractMolten nitrate salts, widely used as thermal energy storage (TES) media in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems, suffer from intrinsic drawbacks such as low thermal conductivity, moderate thermal stability, and limited heat capacity. Conventional oxide nanoparticles have been explored to mitigate these limitations, yet their improvements are often restricted by relatively low intrinsic conductivity and stability. In this context, boride-based nanoparticles (HfB2, TiB2, and ZrB2) have attracted increasing attention owing to their exceptional thermal conductivity, chemical inertness, and high-temperature stability. In this study, solar salt (60 wt% NaNO3-40 wt% KNO3) was modified with different weight fractions (0.5-2.0 wt%) of HfB2, TiB2, and ZrB2 nanoparticles, and their thermophysical properties were systematically investigated. The results revealed that boride addition significantly enhanced density, specific heat capacity (Cp), thermal conductivity, and thermal stability compared to pure solar salt. Specifically, Cp increased from 1.51 J/g.K (pure salt) to 2.68 J/g.K with 2 wt% HfB2 (77.8 % increase), while ZrB2 and TiB2 yielded 2.39 J/g.K (58.4 %) and 1.60 J/g & sdot;K (6.2 %), respectively. Thermal conductivity rose from 0.632 W/m.K (pure salt) to 1.53 W/m.K (HfB2), 1.60 W/m.K (TiB2), and 1.38 W/m.K (ZrB2) at 2 wt% loading. TGA confirmed improved decomposition stability, with TiB2 showing the highest thermal stability at 651 degrees C. Additionally, density measurements indicated systematic increases with additive concentration, with the highest value (2.2411 g/cm3) recorded for ZrB2 at 2 wt%. These findings demonstrate that boride nanoparticles, even at relatively low concentrations, can effectively enhance the thermophysical performance of solar salt, surpassing many conventional oxide-based additives. Among the additives, HfB2 is most promising for maximizing energy density, TiB2 for high-temperature stability and conductivity, and ZrB2 for balanced multipurpose performance. Such improvements highlight the potential of boride-based nanocomposite salts for next generation CSP and thermal energy storage applications, particularly in hightemperature operation regimes where both energy density and efficient heat transfer are critical.
dc.description.sponsorshipScientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TBITAK) [223M467]; TUEBITAK
dc.description.sponsorshipThis study was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUEBITAK) under the project number 223M467. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by TUEBITAK within the scope of this project. The authors also note that part of the results of this study have been submitted as a patent application (Turkish Patent Application No: TR2024002476A2) .
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.est.2025.119207
dc.identifier.issn2352-152X
dc.identifier.issn2352-1538
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0002-0032-3518
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0002-0667-6066
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-105023283734
dc.identifier.scopusqualityQ1
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2025.119207
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11616/109631
dc.identifier.volume143
dc.identifier.wosWOS:001634145600001
dc.identifier.wosqualityQ1
dc.indekslendigikaynakWeb of Science
dc.indekslendigikaynakScopus
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relation.ispartofJournal of Energy Storage
dc.relation.publicationcategoryMakale - Uluslararası Hakemli Dergi - Kurum Öğretim Elemanı
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.snmzKA_WOS_20250329
dc.subjectSolar salt
dc.subjectThermal energy storage
dc.subjectMetal borides (HfB 2
dc.subjectTiB 2
dc.subjectZrB 2 )
dc.subjectSpecific heat capacity
dc.subjectThermal conductivity
dc.subjectConcentrated solar power
dc.titleNovel boride-enhanced solar salts: Thermophysical and structural properties for thermal energy storage
dc.typeArticle

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