Analyzing solar panel materials at the microscale

• Prior to making the financial investment in an array of solar panels, prospective buyers may wonder: The length of time will the modern technology last prior to it breaks down?

That's just what a group of NIST scientists-- consisting of Stephanie Moffitt, Po-Chang Pan and Xiaohong Gu (shown here)-- laid out to recognize.

Nowadays, 30- to 35-year warranties are the standard for commercial solar panels, but there are concerns that some photovoltaic panel materials can show cracks and fall short earlier.

For their examinations, the team members used several accelerated weathering procedures to simulate aging in the field, exposing their samples to stressors such as warmth, humidity and also ultraviolet light. They likewise had actually samples drawn from a solar panel area in Arizona after 7 years, which is when the panels started to reveal cracks.

They found that cracks could create in the backing material (backsheets) of panels making use of a kind of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer as a laminate, especially when:

The polymer is mechanically stressed out (drawn or stretched) in a particular direction, which damages the crystalline structure of the material.

The outer layer is blended with acrylic polymers and also pigments, which causes chemical destruction that produces surface pits. The backsheet then can not stand up to stress, and also the pits trigger micro-cracks.

Utilizing microscopy methods, the scientists also uncovered an adjustment in a backsheet material's crystalline structure that takes place throughout breaking. That structure changes from alpha to beta stage, implying the polymer chains start cramming in a more lined up formation.

Simply put, the group found that not all PVDF-based backsheets act the very same, and lumping them entirely may oversimplify the circumstance.

In many cases, backsheet breaking can be a significant problem for photovoltaic panel vigor, and it doesn't have an extensive, basic fix. Panels with serious breaking require a complete substitute. Yet this kind of research offers even more insight right into the problems to ensure that makers can make more enlightened options regarding materials for more reliable items.