Anti-soiling layer coarted on PMMA Fresnel lens for concentrator photovoltaic modules

An anti-soiling layer was coated on the PMMA substrates. The anti-soiling layer was prepared by coating the inorganic/organic nano-graded intermediate layer (Ube-Nitto Kasei Co., Ltd.) and photocatalytic surface layer including modified WO₃ (ILUMIO^®, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) and partial hydrolyzed tetraethylorthosilicate (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.). After 6 months, the reduction rate of photocurrent without anti-soiling coat was 7.5%. On the other hand, that with anti-soiling coat could be suppressed to 3%. The experimental environment of the exposure site is clean, and there is a lot of rainfall. It is considered that the effect of the anti-soiling coat must be more significant if CPV systems are installed in dusty areas.