Effect of UV aging on degradation of Ethylene-vinyl Acetate (EVA) as encapsulant in photovoltaic (PV) modules

A lifetime of 20-30 years is generally regarded as necessary for photovoltaic modules to achieve economic break even. As a consequence, understanding how to improve the durability and reliability of the modules is becoming a necessity. Photovoltaic modules are exposed to extremely harsh conditions of heat, humidity, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation which affect the properties of the encapsulant material and cause yellowing, delamination and degradation of the material, which knock on effects on the performance and the long-term reliability of photovoltaic modules. This study addresses the impact of UV on the photochemical degradation of Ethylene-vinyl Acetate (EVA). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy in Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) mode was performed on aged samples. The samples were exposed to UV light from a xenon lamp at 0.68 W/m2 at 340 nm with exposure up to 1000 hours. The FTIR-ATR measurement shows significant changes in the absorption at 1740 cm^-1, 1720 cm^-1 and 910 cm^-1 which correspond to acetate, carboxylic acid and vinyl group respectively. It is shown that the UV exposure is the most significant aging factor. The rate of the photooxidation of EVA is compared by measuring the changes of absorbance at 1720 cm^-1 with the UV irradiation time.