Study and characterization of porous copper oxide produced by electrochemical anodization for radiometric heat absorber

The aim of this work is to optimize the different parameters for realization of an absorbing cavity to measure the incident absolute laser energy. Electrochemical oxidation is the background process that allowed the copper blackening. A study of the blackened surface quality was undertaken using atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis and ultraviolet-visible-infrared spectrophotometry using a Shimadzu spectrophotometer. A two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization by AFM of the formed oxide coating showed that the copper surfaces became porous after electrochemical etching with different roughness. This aspect is becoming more and more important with decreasing current density anodization. In a 2 mol L(-1) of NaOH solution, at a temperature of 90°C, and using a 16 mA cm(2) constant density current, the copper oxide formed has a reflectivity of around 3% in the spectral range between 300 and 1,800 nm. Using the 'mirage effect' technique, the obtained Cu2O diffusivity and thermal conductivity are respectively equal to (11.5 ± 0.5) 10 to 7 m(2) s(-1) and (370 ± 20) Wm(-1) K(-1). This allows us to consider that our Cu2O coating is a good thermal conductor. The results of the optical and thermal studies dictate the choice of the cavity design. The absorbing cavity is a hollow cylinder machined to its base at an angle of 30°. If the included angle of the plane is 30° and the interior surface gives specular reflection, an incoming ray parallel to the axis will undergo five reflections before exit. So the absorption of the surface becomes closely near 0.999999.