SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERHYDROPHILIC  SELF-CLEANING FILM BASED ON TiO2/SiO2 COMPOSITE FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

Lưu Tuấn Anh; Trần Hoàng Thảo Nhi; Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Anh

doi:10.34238/tnu-jst.6520

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERHYDROPHILIC SELF-CLEANING FILM BASED ON TiO2/SiO2 COMPOSITE FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

About this article

Received: 17/09/22 Revised: 22/11/22 Published: 22/11/22

Authors

1. Luu Tuan Anh , 1) Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, 2) Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City
2. Tran Hoang Thao Nhi, 1) Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, 2) Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City
3. Nguyen Thi My Anh, 1) Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, 2) Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Transparent, superhydrophilic materials in photovoltaic (PV) applications are indispensable for their self-cleaning function, which can protect the solar cell and raise the efficiency of solar modules. This study presented the synthesis and fabrication of TiO₂/SiO₂ films by the dip-coating method of sol−gel solutions on glass. The TiO₂/SiO₂ composites containing different SiO₂ contents were characterized by XRD and FTIR. The transparency and hydrophilic properties of the films were investigated by UV-vis and WCA. TiO₂ sol was mixed with SiO₂ sol by differing TiO₂/SiO₂ ratios of 1/3, 1/1, and 3/1. The best TiO₂/SiO₂ coating with the ratio of 1/3 was attained on the glass surface after calcining the template at 400 °C. The maximum transmittance of this film reached ∼93.0%, and the film surface showed an excellent super-hydrophilicity with WCA ≈ 4.7°. The results revealed that this composite material would be a promising candidate for the self-cleaning applications of solar module surfaces.

Keywords

Superhydrophilic; Self-cleaning; Photocatalytic; Sol-gel method; Photovoltaic panel

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.6520

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