Preparation of humidity, abrasion, and dust resistant antireflection coatings for photovoltaic modules via dual precursor modification and hybridization of hollow silica nanospheres

Antireflection (AR) coatings on solar glass, used in photovoltaic (PV) modules, generally encounter harsh environments, which demands that AR coatings must hinder moisture penetration, scratch damage, and dust accumulation. Though chemical modification generally benefits the multi-functionalization of AR coatings, it is likely to bring about a degradation of optical and mechanical properties. We demonstrated that a well-controlled dual precursor modification/hybridization process of hollow silica nanospheres was the key to achieve the robust multifunctional AR coatings. The dual precursor-derived AR coatings exhibited an increase of 5.08% in average transmittance at wavelengths from 300 to 1200 nm and a small relative reduction below 0.6% after an ultra-long highly-accelerated humidity and temperature stress test duration of 120 h, equivalent to a 5000 h damp heat test at a temperature and a relative humidity of 85 °C and 85%, respectively, as well as the excellent abrasion and dust resistance. The effects of the dual precursor-derived AR coatings on PV devices were evaluated by the encapsulated crystalline silicon mini-modules, where the improvements of 2.45% and 3.20% in the short-circuit current and the power conversion efficiency (Jsc and PCE) on average, respectively, relative to the bare glass encapsulated mini-modules were observed; meanwhile, the dust resistance of the AR coatings brought about the less degradations of 1.01% and 1.15% in Jsc and PCE, respectively, after the dust settling and removal tests, while the mini-modules with bare glass were 3.45% and 4.40%. It was believed that the dual-precursor, potentially, multi-precursor protocols would pave the way towards developing mechanically robust AR coatings with various fascinating functionalities, such as anti-fingerprint, anti-soiling, anti-fogging, and anti-icing.