(185q) Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) / Period 4-Based Ceramics Composites for Photovoltaic Applications

Photovoltaic-based technology shows promise for the future of renewable power, but it will need additional modifications to become more competitive economically in the current energy market. Thermoelectric materials may offer a consistent source of power to help improve the overall efficiency of solar power collection technology by means of hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric (PV-TE) systems, especially in the hotter months of the year [1]. Currently approximately 90% of solar panels are Si-based which harvest energy in the visible light spectrum and somewhat into the infrared spectrum [2]. Thermoelectric materials on the other hand develop an electric potential when positively and negatively separate upon the material being heated. This property is known as the Seebeck effect and creates a unique opportunity to harvest energy in the thermal spectrum. An effective thermoelectric material has a high electrical conductivity but a low thermal conductivity so that a gradient between the hot and cold side can develop.

Previous work from this group modeled a Poly-Si solar cell, Bi₂Te₃ thermoelectric hybrid system [3]. A one-dimensional, steady-state heat transfer model and thermodynamic analysis was applied to find theoretical efficiencies of both the solar PV component and thermoelectric component of the system. The efficiency of the panel at the reference temperature and irradiation was taken to be 12.4%and B equaled 0.004 [2]. Power for this model system would tend to decrease in the hotter months of the year. Thermoelectric power output was observed to be more stable throughout the year which may have helped to buffer the larger dip in the power output for the PV cell. The changes in ambient temperature during the calendar year were also reported to have exhibited less effect on the thermoelectric material. Fluctuating solar irradiation indicated a large direct impact only on the efficiency of the thermoelectric material.

This current work investigated the development of polymer composite materials for solar power generation. Recent work has reported the successful fabrication of a polymer-based photovoltaic device using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based technology [4]. In this group, composites consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with model photoactive ceramics sodium selenide (Na₂Se), zinc oxide (ZnO), and titanium oxide (TiO₂) with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 wt% filler loadings were synthesized and characterized using x-ray diffractometry (XRD), UV-VIS spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and pulsed luminescence (PL) spectroscopy to determine their potential for photovoltaic applications. The effects of particle size, synthesis pathways, and filler composition on composite photoactivity will also be discussed.

Literature Cited:

1. Kossyvakis, D.N., Voutsinas, G.D., E.V. Hristoforou, E.V. (2016) Experimental analysis and performance

evaluation of a tandem photovoltaic–thermoelectric hybrid system. Energy Conversion and Management,

vol. 117, pp. 490–500.

2. Ghinis, J., Leslie, C. (2018) A Meta Study on the Implications of Thermoelectric Generation on Hybrid

Photovoltaic Systems, PAM Review: Energy & Science Technology, vol. 5, pp. 104-118.

3. Bouzguenda, M., Aboulnaga, A.A., Elamin, G., Hayman, D.M., Roberts, K.L. (2018) “Solar Hybrid Power

Systems for Improved Electrical Delivery in Low Humidity, High Temperature Conditions”, AIChE Annual

Meeting Proceedings, AIChE, New York, NY.

4. Kim, J., Lee, S.M., Hwang, Y-H, Lee, S., Park, B, Jangac, J-H, Lee, K. (2017) “A highly efficient self-power

pack system integrating supercapacitors and photovoltaics with an area-saving monolithic architecture”,

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 5, pp. 1906-1912.