Enhanced Electrostatic Dust Removal from Solar Panels Using Transparent Conductive Nano-Textured Surfaces.

ABSTRACT: Dust accumulation on solar panels is a mjor operational challenge faced by the photovoltaic industry. Removing dust using water-based cleaning is expensive and unsustainable. Dust repulsion via charge induction is an efficient way to clean solar panels and recover power output without consuming any water. However, it is still challenging to remove particles of ≈30 µm and smaller because Van der Waals force of adhesion dominates electrostatic force of repulsion. Here, the study proposes nano-textured, transparent, electrically conductive glass surfaces to significantly enhance electrostatic dust removal for particles smaller than ≈30 µm. We perform atomic force microscopy pull-off force experiments and demonstrates that nano-textured surfaces reduce the force of adhesion of silica micro-par

SUBMITTER: Dickhardt FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11753500 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature