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Title: Advanced X-ray Scattering and Spectroscopy Characterization of an Antisoiling Coating for Solar Module Glass

Journal Article · · ACS Applied Energy Materials

When dust and other particulates accumulate on the surface of solar modules, the power output of these soiled modules is significantly reduced. To combat this issue, antisoiling coatings can be placed on the top glass surface of solar modules. While there exists some understanding of how antisoiling coatings reduce soiling and reflection losses, approaches to characterize the durability and stability of the chemistry and morphology of antisoiling PV glass module coatings and how they evolve in response to soiling interactions are currently underdeveloped. Here we present the use of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) as a methodology for studying the morphology and chemistry of pristine and soiled antisoiling coatings. Here, this work demonstrates the effectiveness of SAXS in observing coating morphology despite the presence of soil surface layers—a capability which sets it apart as a strong characterization tool for antisoiling coatings on PV glass. XPS and XAS are used as complementary techniques to characterize the evolution of coating surface chemistry before and after soiling. XAS is shown to detect subtle chemical changes in the coating surface that cannot be detected by XPS.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S); National Science Foundation; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1598421
Journal Information:
ACS Applied Energy Materials, Journal Name: ACS Applied Energy Materials Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 2; ISSN 2574-0962
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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