Robust and transparent dust removal coating applied to polyimide-based photovoltaic modules for lunar rovers
Tao Huang,
Meihong Shen,
Linlin Song,
Yang Yang,
Bin Yu,
Meifang Zhu,
Hao Yu
Affiliations
Tao Huang
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China
Meihong Shen
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China
Linlin Song
State Key Laboratory of Space Power Sources, Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources, Shanghai, 200245, China
Yang Yang
State Key Laboratory of Space Power Sources, Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources, Shanghai, 200245, China
Bin Yu
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China; Corresponding author.
Meifang Zhu
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China
Hao Yu
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China; Corresponding author.
Dust removal coatings for polyimide (PI)-based photovoltaic modules used in lunar rovers were fabricated successfully through the blade-coating method using silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles and γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550). The dust removal performance, morphology, transparency, and adhesive force of the coating can be optimized by adjusting the pH and the mass ratios of SiO2 and KH550. The designed coating demonstrates excellent dust removal performance, achieving an percentage of over 85 %. Moreover, the coating has minimal impact on the transparency of the PI substrate and exhibits strong adhesion to it. Additionally, the coating shows remarkable resistance to both high and low temperatures. Even after undergoing five cycles of thermal treatment ranging from −196 to 160 °C, there were no significant changes in the morphology or dust removal performance of the coating. Therefore, this coating exhibits tremendous potential for application in the dust removal of photovoltaic modules in lunar rovers.
