Preparation and characterization of superhydrophilic self-cleaning coating for solar cell cover glass applications

This study focuses on the preparation of silica-sol for producing a durable, transparent, super-hydrophilic coating on glass substrates. The coating was cured within a few minutes at room temperature and exhibited an excellent self-cleaning effect. To obtain the superhydrophilic coating, silica-sol with a certain particle size was prepared and characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The sol was mixed with a surfactant, crosslinker, solvent, and other components in a certain proportion. The micromorphology of super-hydrophilic coating surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The static contact angle was measured to evaluate the wettability of the coated surface. The contact angle was noticed to have reached to 4.2° after coating. The coating surface remained transparent and self-cleaning with time despite a small increase in the contact angle. Therefore, the coating has a good application potential in the field of self-cleaning solar panels.