Heat-resistant nanophotonic material could help turn heat into electricityThe key to beating the heat is degrading the materials in advanceA new nanophotonic material has broken records for high-temperature stability, potentially ushering in more efficient electricity production and opening a variety of new possibilities in the control and conversion of thermal radiation.This could potentially reduce heat waste in thermophotovoltaic cells, which convert heat into electricity but can’t use infrared energy, by reflecting infrared waves back into the system.The challenging part has been preventing breakdown of that color-producing structure under high heat.”The approach is a major departure from the current state of engineered thermal emitters, which typically use foams and ceramics to limit infrared emissions.The new material works toward solving that problem, besting the previous record for heat resistance among air-stable photonic crystals by more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit in open air.In addition, the material is tunable, enabling researchers to tweak it to modify energy for a wide variety of potential applications."