In‐Scribe Silane Bonding for Mechanical Reinforcement of Perovskite Photovoltaic Modules

Li, Muzhi; Witteck, Robert; Zhang, Xinwen; Minh, Duong Nguyen; Bramante, Rosemary C.; Guthrey, Harvey; Harvey, Steven P.; Habersberger, Brian; Luther, Joseph M.; Rolston, Nicholas; Wheeler, Lance M.

doi:10.1002/aenm.202501322

In‐Scribe Silane Bonding for Mechanical Reinforcement of Perovskite Photovoltaic Modules

Journal Article · Mon Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Advanced Energy Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202501322· OSTI ID:2574730

Li, Muzhi ^[1]; ^[2]; Zhang, Xinwen ^[2]; Minh, Duong Nguyen ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[2]; ^[2]; Habersberger, Brian ^[4]; ^[2]; Rolston, Nicholas ^[1]; ^[2]

Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Dow Chemical Company, Lake Jackson, TX (United States)

Despite the extraordinary rise in power conversion efficiency over the last decade, metal halide perovskite (MHP) photovoltaics remain more mechanically fragile than other PV technologies. In this work, the scribe area, created by the monolithic interconnection of thin-film solar cells, is used to extrinsically reinforce the mechanical robustness of packaged MHP solar modules. In contrast to the epoxy-based chemistries often leveraged in the MHP literature, silane-grafted polyolefin encapsulants are designed to form strong covalent bonds to oxide surfaces, specifically to glass and the transparent conductive oxide at the base of the scribe line. Pseudo-modules encapsulated with silane-grafted polyolefin are measured with more than an order-of-magnitude enhancement infracture energy from 0.27 ± 0.01 J·m⁻² (no scribes) to 5.97 ± 0.42 J·m⁻² (scribes perpendicular to delamination directioncovering ≈2.2% of the module area). The silane-grafted polyolefin retains strong adhesion even after undergoing an accelerated IEC 61215 thermal cycling test consisting of 250 cycles. We find that the in-scribe bonding allows perovskite modules to have adhesion strength comparable to commercial c-Si and CdTe technologies with only 5% reduction in the active module area. This manufacturing-compatible approach offers a practical solution to address the mechanical integrity challenges in MHP solar modules, regardless of cell architecture.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 2574730

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5900-95958

Journal Information:: Advanced Energy Materials, Journal Name: Advanced Energy Materials Journal Issue: 34 Vol. 15; ISSN 1614-6840; ISSN 1614-6832

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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