Upscaling the fabrication routine of bioreplicated rose petal light harvesting layers for photovoltaic modules

Fritz, Benjamin; Hünig, Ruben; Guttmann, Markus; Schneider, Marc; Reza, Khan Mamun; Salomon, Oliver; Jackson, Philip; Powalla, Michael; Lemmer, Uli; Gomard, Guillaume

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2020.03.020

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Polymeric cover layers replicating the surface texture of rose petals, previously developed for improving sunlight-harvesting in solar cells [ 11 , 12 ], were fabricated over large areas to experimentally assess their impact on polarized light pollution in the field. The scanning electron microscope images in Fig 1B and 1C show the topography of these replicas.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the design of multifunctional microtextured photovoltaic cover layers, the target of causing minimal polarized light pollution therefore only constitutes a weak constraint on the design parameters. With a clear advantage over nanoporous antireflective light-harvesting solar glass layers [31] in terms of reducing polarized light pollution, our microtextured rose petal imitating surfaces therefore seem to be a promising pathway towards, at the same time, achieving outstanding light-harvesting properties [9][10][11][12] as well as introducing a self-cleaning scheme [11] and diminishing maladaptive attractiveness to polarotactic aquatic insects.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…(iii) Self-cleaning, which decreases the maintenance costs associated to the removal of soiling particles [6][7][8]. Although many different multifunctional cover layers have been developed [9][10][11][12], their impact on insect ecology and conservation is largely unexplored. The study of this impact is important due to the global insect crisis [13][14][15][16][17] and to the worldwide deployment of photovoltaic installations [18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We performed field experiments with microtextured polymeric coatings incorporating the surface texture of rose petals. These bioreplicated layers improve both light and water management in photovoltaic devices [ 9 , 11 , 12 ]. We show here that they also strongly reduce the attractiveness to mayflies and horseflies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioreplicated coatings for photovoltaic solar panels nearly eliminate light pollution that harms polarotactic insects

et al. 2020

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Many insect species rely on the polarization properties of object-reflected light for vital tasks like water or host detection. Unfortunately, typical glass-encapsulated photovoltaic modules, which are expected to cover increasingly large surfaces in the coming years, inadvertently attract various species of water-seeking aquatic insects by the horizontally polarized light they reflect. Such polarized light pollution can be extremely harmful to the entomofauna if polarotactic aquatic insects are trapped by this attractive light signal and perish before reproduction, or if they lay their eggs in unsuitable locations. Textured photovoltaic cover layers are usually engineered to maximize sunlight-harvesting, without taking into consideration their impact on polarized light pollution. The goal of the present study is therefore to experimentally and computationally assess the influence of the cover layer topography on polarized light pollution. By conducting field experiments with polarotactic horseflies (Diptera: Tabanidae) and a mayfly species (Ephemeroptera: Ephemera danica), we demonstrate that bioreplicated cover layers (here obtained by directly copying the surface microtexture of rose petals) were almost unattractive to these species, which is indicative of reduced polarized light pollution. Relative to a planar cover layer, we find that, for the examined aquatic species, the bioreplicated texture can greatly reduce the numbers of landings. This observation is further analyzed and explained by means of imaging polarimetry and ray-tracing simulations. The results pave the way to novel photovoltaic cover layers, the interface of which can be designed to improve sunlight conversion efficiency while minimizing their detrimental influence on the ecology and conservation of polarotactic aquatic insects.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioreplicated coatings for photovoltaic solar panels nearly eliminate light pollution that harms polarotactic insects

et al. 2020

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“…We used two different black (rearside of the surfaces was painted black using three layers of acrylic colour) horizontal test surfaces (50 cm × 50 cm). m , matte black solar panels composed of 20 rectangular elements (12.5 cm × 10 cm) with 15 elementary cells (3.3 cm × 2.5 cm) and coated by a micro/nanotextured cover layer obtained by a bio-replication process of natural rose petals in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, see Hünig et al 2016 ; Fritz et al 2018 , 2020a ). g + m , an identical matte black solar panel mimicking a surface covered with a common glass pane of 3 mm thickness.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horsefly reactions to black surfaces: attractiveness to male and female tabanids versus surface tilt angle and temperature

et al. 2020

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Tabanid flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) are attracted to shiny black targets, prefer warmer hosts against colder ones and generally attack them in sunshine. Horizontally polarised light reflected from surfaces means water for water-seeking male and female tabanids. A shiny black target above the ground, reflecting light with high degrees and various directions of linear polarisation is recognised as a host animal by female tabanids seeking for blood. Since the body of host animals has differently oriented surface parts, the following question arises: How does the attractiveness of a tilted shiny black surface to male and female tabanids depend on the tilt angle δ? Another question relates to the reaction of horseflies to horizontal black test surfaces with respect to their surface temperature. Solar panels, for example, can induce horizontally polarised light and can reach temperatures above 55°C. How long times would horseflies stay on such hot solar panels? The answer of these questions is important not only in tabanid control, but also in the reduction of polarised light pollution caused by solar panels. To study these questions, we performed field experiments in Hungary in the summer of 2019 with horseflies and black sticky and dry test surfaces. We found that the total number of trapped (male and female) tabanids is highest if the surface is horizontal (δ = 0°), and it is minimal at δ = 75°. The number of trapped males decreases monotonously to zero with increasing δ, while the female catch has a primary maximum and minimum at δ = 0°and δ = 75°, respectively, and a further secondary peak at δ = 90°. Both sexes are strongly attracted to nearly horizontal (0°≤ δ ≤ 15°) surfaces, and the vertical surface is also very attractive but only for females. The numbers of touchdowns and landings of tabanids are practically independent of the surface temperature T. The time period of tabanids spent on the shiny black horizontal surface decreases with increasing T so that above 58°C tabanids spent no longer than 1 s on the surface. The horizontally polarised light reflected from solar panels attracts aquatic insects. This attraction is adverse, if the lured insects lay their eggs onto the black surface and/or cannot escape from the polarised signal and perish due to dehydration. Using polarotactic horseflies as indicator insects in our field experiment, we determined the magnitude of polarised light pollution (being proportional to the visual attractiveness to tabanids) of smooth black oblique surfaces as functions of δ and T.

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Exploiting the Optical Limits of Thin‐Film Solar Cells: A Review on Light Management Strategies in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂

Oliveira

Teixeira

Ramos

et al. 2022

Advanced Photonics Research

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Light management strategies are of utmost importance to allow Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) technology market expansion, as it would enable a conversion efficiency boost as well as thinner absorber layers, increasing sustainability and reducing production costs. However, fabrication and architecture constraints hamper the direct transfer of light management architectures from other photovoltaic technologies. The demand for light management in thin and ultrathin CIGS cells is analyzed by a critical description of the optical loss mechanisms in these devices. Three main pathways to tackle the optical losses are identified: front light management architectures that assist for an omnidirectional low reflection; rear architectures that enable an enhanced optical path length; and unconventional spectral conversion strategies for full spectral harvesting. An outlook over the challenges and developments of light management architectures is performed, establishing a research roadmap for future works in light management for CIGS technology. Following the extensive review, it is expected that combining antireflection, light trapping, and conversion mechanisms, a 27% CIGS solar cell can be achieved.

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Upscaling the fabrication routine of bioreplicated rose petal light harvesting layers for photovoltaic modules

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

Bioreplicated coatings for photovoltaic solar panels nearly eliminate light pollution that harms polarotactic insects

Bioreplicated coatings for photovoltaic solar panels nearly eliminate light pollution that harms polarotactic insects

Horsefly reactions to black surfaces: attractiveness to male and female tabanids versus surface tilt angle and temperature

Exploiting the Optical Limits of Thin‐Film Solar Cells: A Review on Light Management Strategies in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂

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Upscaling the fabrication routine of bioreplicated rose petal light harvesting layers for photovoltaic modules

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

Bioreplicated coatings for photovoltaic solar panels nearly eliminate light pollution that harms polarotactic insects

Bioreplicated coatings for photovoltaic solar panels nearly eliminate light pollution that harms polarotactic insects

Horsefly reactions to black surfaces: attractiveness to male and female tabanids versus surface tilt angle and temperature

Exploiting the Optical Limits of Thin‐Film Solar Cells: A Review on Light Management Strategies in Cu(In,Ga)Se2

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Exploiting the Optical Limits of Thin‐Film Solar Cells: A Review on Light Management Strategies in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂