Reduction of Dust Deposition on Solar Photovoltaic Cells by Self-Cleaning Coating: Experimental Study of Influencing Factors

This study experimentally investigates a method to reduce dust deposition on solar cells using a superhydrophobic coating under various influencing factors. The deposition pattern, deposition density, and reduction of spectral transmittance by dust deposition are investigated. The comparison of the types of dust shows that the dust deposition densities of soil and sand on the coated surface are only 52.6% and 37.2% of those on the uncoated surface, respectively, when the dust is dry and the tilt angle θ is 30°. The comparison of the tilt angles shows that the dust deposition densities on the coated surface are only 37.2% and 22.3% of those on the uncoated surface at θ values of 30° and 60°, respectively, when the dust is dry sand. The comparison of different water contents shows that the dust deposition densities on the coated surface are only 37.2% and 46.3% of those on the bare surfaces for dry sand and wet sand, respectively, when the θ value is 30°. The superhydrophobic coating reduces the deposition of sand dust more than that of soil dust. Moreover, the reduction in dust deposition by the coating is greater with higher tilt angles and with drier dust.