Radiative cooling of commercial silicon solar cells using a pyramid-textured PDMS film

Radiative cooling is an electricity-free method for solar cells to dissipate waste heat, which has drawn much attention in recent years. In this paper, a periodic pyramid-textured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film is proposed for radiative cooling of encapsulated commercial silicon solar cells. Spectral tests show that the proposed pyramid-textured PDMS film emits like a blackbody and simultaneously has an average transmittance of >0.9 in the silicon absorption spectrum from 0.3 mu m to 1.1 mu m. Outdoor cooling tests demonstrate that the encapsulated commercial silicon solar cells with the proposed textured PDMS film can be cooled by over 2 degrees C. Due to its good optical and flexible properties, the textured PDMS film has great potential for applications in the photovoltaic industry.

Automated summary

In this study, a periodic pyramid-textured PDMS film was proposed for radiative cooling of encapsulated commercial silicon solar cells. The film showed good emission and transmittance properties, effectively reducing the temperature of the solar cells.