Highly Transparent Superhydrophobic Photovoltaic Coating With Alkali-Induced Durability Enhancement

Surface contamination on photovoltaic glass severely degrades its power-generation efficiency, thereby making the development of transparent anti-soiling coatings an important research direction. Herein, a poly (methylmethacrylate)/1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane/SiO 2 (PMMA/PFOTS/SiO 2 ) organic–inorganic hybrid transparent superhydrophobic anti-fouling coating is developed via a one-step sol–gel method. The coating exhibits a stable Cassie-Baxter state with high water contact angle (155.2° ± 1.1°) and a low sliding angle (4.8° ± 0.7°), demonstrating excellent superhydrophobic characteristics. Optical tests demonstrate an average transmittance of 87.6% in the 400–2500 nm range and only 8.3% external quantum efficiency (EQE) attenuation at 800 nm compared to photovoltaic devices, significantly outperforming commercial superhydrophobic coatings (58.3% attenuation). This enables synergistic gains in dust resistance and photon capture efficiency. Additionally, after 24 h immersion in alkaline solution, the coating hydrophobicity is enhanced, with WCA increasing to 165.1° ± 1.4°. We believe that the designed superhydrophobic coating with integrated functionalities of self-cleaning, high transmittance, and alkali-induced self-enhancement can provide important solutions for maximizing the long-term power generation efficiency of photovoltaic glass in complex outdoor environments.