Effect of coupling agent type on the self-cleaning and anti-reflective behaviour of advance nanocoating for PV panels application

The accumulation of soiling reduces the transformation of light radiation from the sun into electrical power, thus reducing the PV efficiency. Hence, so as to keep the performance steady, PV panels should be cleaned frequently. So, the self-cleaning procedure is the best technology and the coating method is one of these methods for PV panel surface cleaning. Novel superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic nanocoating were prepared with change the coupling agent by using a hybrid technique (sol-gel/ spray coating) with increased stability, optical transmittance, anti-soiling, anti-reflective, and minimize the corrosion effect. This nanocoating applies to the Photovoltaic solar panel to increase the electrical and optical performance of PV panels. The two coating settlements have been synthesized by using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), Ethanol absolute, (APTES), and 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate. These two solutions are coated on glass substrate by the air spray coating method. The chemical measurements of the nanocoating were tested by an (FE-SEM) field-emission scanning electron microscope. The results of the cross-section to SiO₂ nanocoating about (1.8 µm) and the particle size were about (30 nm). The surface wettability was tested to identify the superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic by water contact angle (WCA) test, the degree values are 155˚ and 6.82˚ of superhydrophobic and hydrophilic coatings, respectively. The maximum value of transmittance was 94.949% at wavelength 884 nm.