Super hydrophilic nano particulate coating for solar PV module

Abstract

In this research porous silica nanoparticles are deposited on solar PV protective glass to achieve super hydrophilicity. The coated glass has antifogging, antireflective and highly transparent surface, which is attained by using SiH4 gas as a precursor material. Desired thickness of coating over the substrate surface is accomplished by tuning the RF power and maneuvering the flow rate of silane, air and He mixture in the coating chamber. Surface topology of coated film is studied by atomic force microscope and indicates superhydrophilic and outstanding antifogging properties due to nanoporosity and high surface roughness. Furthermore, the graded index of coated surface enhances the transmissivity from 90% to 99.2%.