Title : Self-cleaning coatings based on the SiO2/WO3/ZnO film for solar cells
Abstract:
The accumulation of pollution on the cover glass of the solar cell reduces its efficiency. The pollution on the cover glass reduces the intensity of the light passing through the cover glass. In the present study, it was aimed to prepare self-cleaning coatings for the solar cell. The main aim was to reduce the pollution-induced efficiency loss of the solar cell. In detail, SiO2/WO3 and SiO2/WO3/ZnO composite solutions were prepared and used to coat the specified composites as film on the glass substrates through the dip-coating method. WO3 as a semiconductor photocatalyst can absorb the photons of the solar light, resulting in the formation of the photoexcited charge carriers. The photoinduced electron-hole pairs can form active radicals on the photocatalyst surface, providing the degradation of the organic pollution on the cover glass of the solar cell. At the same time, the photoinduced electron-hole pairs can provide the photoinduced hydrophilicity on the surface of the cover glass, allowing water droplets to remove the pollution on the cover glass. The major drawback of WO3 is the high recombination rate of its photoexcited charge carriers. To reduce the recombination rate of the photoexcited electron-hole pairs, WO3 was coupled with SiO2 and ZnO. Coupling WO3 with SiO2 and ZnO enhanced the photocatalytic activity. The self-cleaning mechanism was investigated through the photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency of the coated film samples on the glass substrates. Compare to the uncoated cover glass, there was a slight reduction in the light transmittance ratio and the solar cell efficiency of the SiO2/WO3 composite film. In addition, combining the SiO2/WO3 composite film with ZnO improved the photocatalytic activity, and it increased both the light transmittance ratio and the solar cell efficiency compared to SiO2/WO3 composite film. The SiO2/WO3/ZnO composite film provided a photocatalytic dye removal efficiency of almost 90% after 240 min of the UVA light irradiation. Besides, the solar cell including the cover glass coated with the SiO2/WO3/ZnO film provided almost the same solar cell efficiency as the uncoated solar cell.
Audience Takeaway Notes:
- The audience will inform about the contamination and pollution problem of the solar cell system. The effect of the pollution on the solar cell efficiency will be presented at the conference.
- There are several techniques to remove the pollution on the cover glass of the solar cell. These techniques will be summarized shortly at the conference.
- Combining WO3 with SiO2 and ZnO enhanced the separation of the photoinduced electron-hole pairs on the photocatalyst, leading to an improvement in the photocatalytic degradation rate of pollution.
- Self-cleaning coatings for the solar cell are a new topic and a new research field. The audience will inform about it.
