Development Of Anti-Reflective And Self-Cleaning Sio 2 Nanoparticles Coatings For Photovoltaic Panels

Hydrophobic coating of silica nanoparticles was deposited on the glass substrate by sol-gel method. Silica sol treated with HMDS was coated on the glass substrate by using dip coating method. The dipping time and HMDS/Silica ratio was optimized to obtain the good control over wettability properties. Due to hierarchical nano-structure of coated film the wettability of glass decreased and contact angle increased from 45o to 155o. The super hydrophobic nature of these particles endows these coating with self-cleaning properties, which can be used to increase the optical efficiency of solar PV modules. Because of their rather high hydrophobicity, such surfaces possess some interesting characters such as low water and snow adhesion, low friction in surface dragging and easy removal of dirt.