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Deposition Sciences Inc. - Difficult Coatings - LB - 8/23

Nanocoating Keeps Solar Panels Clean

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A novel nanoparticle coating repels dust, pollen and other particles, and could keep solar panels clean and operating at their peak efficiency longer than conventional panels.

Solar panels need a clean surface to gather light efficiently from the sun, but they are often soiled by water and debris that can reduce their power capabilities by up to 30 percent, according to University of Houston physics professor Seamus Curran.

Curran developed a self-cleaning nano-thin hydrophobic coating layer that repels water and particles without interfering with the solar panel’s ability to absorb sunlight. The patent-pending coating can last for years, reducing maintenance and operation costs.

The technology was successfully tested at the Dublin Institute for Technology and will undergo field trials being run by Livingston & Haven, an engineering firm in North Carolina. Its developers say that it could have widespread application as an anticorrosive coating for other materials.

The Self-Cleaning Nano Hydrophobic (SCNH107TM) layer has been licensed by C-Voltaics, a startup energy company; the university is a shareholder.

For more information, visit: www.uh.edu
PI Physik Instrumente - Revolution In Photonics Align LW MR3/24

Published: August 2012
Glossary
nano
An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
Americasanticorrosive coatingC-VoltaicsCoatingsDublin Institute for Technologyenergygreen photonicshydrophobic surfaceLivingston & Havennanonanoparticle coatingNorth CarolinaphotonicsResearch & TechnologySeamus Curranself-cleaning nano hydrophobic layerself-cleaning solar panelssolar panelssunlight absorptionTexasUniversity of Houston

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