Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants
Technological developments in the solar photovoltaic field must guarantee the high performance and low deterioration of solar cells in order for solar power plants to be more efficient and competitive. The solar cell needs comprehensive protection offered by a polymeric encapsulant, which improves U...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6751 |
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| author | Marilena Baiamonte Elisabetta Morici Claudio Colletti Nadka Tz. Dintcheva |
| author_facet | Marilena Baiamonte Elisabetta Morici Claudio Colletti Nadka Tz. Dintcheva |
| author_sort | Marilena Baiamonte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Technological developments in the solar photovoltaic field must guarantee the high performance and low deterioration of solar cells in order for solar power plants to be more efficient and competitive. The solar cell needs comprehensive protection offered by a polymeric encapsulant, which improves UV stability, reduces water and moisture absorption, reduces oxygen and vapor permeability and enhances mechanical resistance. Moreover, high transparency and adhesion yields improved the solar panel performance. The current work analyzes polymeric films based on poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) and polyolefin (PO) for photovoltaic encapsulant use (the high temperature resistance is improved by adding PO to EVA, as investigated and documented before). To enhance the mechanical resistance and optical properties of the investigated matrices, a crosslinking agent, an adhesion promoter and stabilizing agents have been incorporated in both EVA and EVA/PO systems. The adhesion promoter is a polar wax–silane-free agent; the absence of the silane function allows the integrity of the module to be maintained over time. All samples were characterized through mechanical and rheological analysis, and their long-term UV stability was investigated by accelerated ageing and by FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy. The obtained results suggest that the presence of a crosslinking agent, an adhesion promoter and stabilizers in EVA/PO-based films allows for the achievement of the required features for the encapsulants, showing mechanical and rheological behavior similar to those of EVA containing the same additives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:31:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8bb017ef019406cb7fc83034c74c9d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:31:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8bb017ef019406cb7fc83034c74c9d62023-11-23T20:56:11ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442022-09-011519675110.3390/ma15196751Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic EncapsulantsMarilena Baiamonte0Elisabetta Morici1Claudio Colletti2Nadka Tz. Dintcheva3Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 6, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 6, 90128 Palermo, ItalyEnel Green Power SpA Contrada Blocco Torrazze, Zona Industriale Catania, 95121 Catania, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 6, 90128 Palermo, ItalyTechnological developments in the solar photovoltaic field must guarantee the high performance and low deterioration of solar cells in order for solar power plants to be more efficient and competitive. The solar cell needs comprehensive protection offered by a polymeric encapsulant, which improves UV stability, reduces water and moisture absorption, reduces oxygen and vapor permeability and enhances mechanical resistance. Moreover, high transparency and adhesion yields improved the solar panel performance. The current work analyzes polymeric films based on poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) and polyolefin (PO) for photovoltaic encapsulant use (the high temperature resistance is improved by adding PO to EVA, as investigated and documented before). To enhance the mechanical resistance and optical properties of the investigated matrices, a crosslinking agent, an adhesion promoter and stabilizing agents have been incorporated in both EVA and EVA/PO systems. The adhesion promoter is a polar wax–silane-free agent; the absence of the silane function allows the integrity of the module to be maintained over time. All samples were characterized through mechanical and rheological analysis, and their long-term UV stability was investigated by accelerated ageing and by FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy. The obtained results suggest that the presence of a crosslinking agent, an adhesion promoter and stabilizers in EVA/PO-based films allows for the achievement of the required features for the encapsulants, showing mechanical and rheological behavior similar to those of EVA containing the same additives.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6751photovoltaicpolymeric encapsulantEVAcrosslinking agentstabilizing systemadhesion promoter |
| spellingShingle | Marilena Baiamonte Elisabetta Morici Claudio Colletti Nadka Tz. Dintcheva Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants Materials photovoltaic polymeric encapsulant EVA crosslinking agent stabilizing system adhesion promoter |
| title | Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants |
| title_full | Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants |
| title_fullStr | Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants |
| title_short | Polar Wax as Adhesion Promoter in Polymeric Blend Films for Durable Photovoltaic Encapsulants |
| title_sort | polar wax as adhesion promoter in polymeric blend films for durable photovoltaic encapsulants |
| topic | photovoltaic polymeric encapsulant EVA crosslinking agent stabilizing system adhesion promoter |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6751 |
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