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Metastable atomic layer deposition: 3D self-assembly towards ultra dark materials

Black body materials prove promising candidates to meet future energy demands as they are able to harvest energy from the total bandwidth of solar radiation. Here, we report on high absorption (> 98 %) near-black body-like structures consisting of a silica scaffold and Ag nanoparticles with a layer thickness below 10 um; fabricated using metastable atomic layer deposition (MS-ALD) and to be applied for a wide solar spectrum ranging from 220 nm to 2500 nm. Several effects contribute collectively and in a synergistic manner to the high absorbance, including the pronounced heterogeneity of the nanoparticles in size and shape, particle plasmon hybridization and the trapping of omni-directionally scattered light in the 3D hierarchical hybrid structures. We propose that, in the future, MS-ALD needs to be considered as a simple and promising method to fabricate black-body materials with excellent broadband absorption.