Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films
ABSTRACT Photovoltaic (PV) technology plays a pivotal role in energy transformation processes, especially for sustainable energy systems. However, the conversion efficiency of the PV cells is adversely affected by increasing temperature, leading to a reduction in their overall performance. In this s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-06-01
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| Series: | SmartMat |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/smm2.70015 |
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| author | Xu Ran Zhenyu Shi An Zhang Junhao Shen Litao Sun Xing Wu Hengchang Bi |
| author_facet | Xu Ran Zhenyu Shi An Zhang Junhao Shen Litao Sun Xing Wu Hengchang Bi |
| author_sort | Xu Ran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Photovoltaic (PV) technology plays a pivotal role in energy transformation processes, especially for sustainable energy systems. However, the conversion efficiency of the PV cells is adversely affected by increasing temperature, leading to a reduction in their overall performance. In this study, a self‐hygroscopic polyvinyl alcohol/graphene (SPG) cooling film, comprising a graphene layer and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel layer with lithium bromide (LiBr), is introduced to passively reduce the working temperature of the PV cells. The graphene layer, as a heat‐conducting layer, can efficiently conduct heat from the heat source to the self‐hygroscopic PVA hydrogel layer used as an evaporation cooling layer. In addition, the introduction of LiBr endows the PVA hydrogel with an excellent self‐hygroscopic property. The SPG cooling film demonstrates an outstanding cooling performance under the synergistic effect of the graphene film and the self‐hygroscopic PVA hydrogel. In the outdoor experiments, the SPG cooling film can reduce the temperature of the PV cells by 20.6°C and increase its average output power from 74 to 93 W/m2, about a 25.7% increase. This cooling film demonstrates significant potential for enhancing cooling performance in electronic devices and could be widely used in the thermal management of PV cells. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b27b5d7520864ad5b5ed56e59c6ef535 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2688-819X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SmartMat |
| spelling | doaj-art-b27b5d7520864ad5b5ed56e59c6ef5352025-08-20T03:27:43ZengWileySmartMat2688-819X2025-06-0163n/an/a10.1002/smm2.70015Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene FilmsXu Ran0Zhenyu Shi1An Zhang2Junhao Shen3Litao Sun4Xing Wu5Hengchang Bi6In Situ Devices Center, School of Integrated Circuits East China Normal University Shanghai ChinaDepartment of Chemistry City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong ChinaDepartment of Chemistry City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong ChinaIn Situ Devices Center, School of Integrated Circuits East China Normal University Shanghai ChinaSEU‐FEI Nano‐Pico Center, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center for Micro/Nano Fabrication, Device and System Southeast University Nanjing ChinaIn Situ Devices Center, School of Integrated Circuits East China Normal University Shanghai ChinaIn Situ Devices Center, School of Integrated Circuits East China Normal University Shanghai ChinaABSTRACT Photovoltaic (PV) technology plays a pivotal role in energy transformation processes, especially for sustainable energy systems. However, the conversion efficiency of the PV cells is adversely affected by increasing temperature, leading to a reduction in their overall performance. In this study, a self‐hygroscopic polyvinyl alcohol/graphene (SPG) cooling film, comprising a graphene layer and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel layer with lithium bromide (LiBr), is introduced to passively reduce the working temperature of the PV cells. The graphene layer, as a heat‐conducting layer, can efficiently conduct heat from the heat source to the self‐hygroscopic PVA hydrogel layer used as an evaporation cooling layer. In addition, the introduction of LiBr endows the PVA hydrogel with an excellent self‐hygroscopic property. The SPG cooling film demonstrates an outstanding cooling performance under the synergistic effect of the graphene film and the self‐hygroscopic PVA hydrogel. In the outdoor experiments, the SPG cooling film can reduce the temperature of the PV cells by 20.6°C and increase its average output power from 74 to 93 W/m2, about a 25.7% increase. This cooling film demonstrates significant potential for enhancing cooling performance in electronic devices and could be widely used in the thermal management of PV cells.https://doi.org/10.1002/smm2.70015evaporation coolinggraphene filmshygroscopic hydrogelsphotovoltaic cellsthermal conductivity |
| spellingShingle | Xu Ran Zhenyu Shi An Zhang Junhao Shen Litao Sun Xing Wu Hengchang Bi Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films SmartMat evaporation cooling graphene films hygroscopic hydrogels photovoltaic cells thermal conductivity |
| title | Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films |
| title_full | Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films |
| title_fullStr | Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films |
| title_short | Efficient Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Cells via Self‐Hygroscopic Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Films |
| title_sort | efficient passive cooling for photovoltaic cells via self hygroscopic polyvinyl alcohol graphene films |
| topic | evaporation cooling graphene films hygroscopic hydrogels photovoltaic cells thermal conductivity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/smm2.70015 |
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