In this study, a four-inch zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructure was synthesized using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering to maximize the electrochemical performance of the anode material of a lithium-ion battery. All materials were grown on cleaned p-type silicon (100) wafers with a deposited copper layer inserted at the stage. The chamber of the RF magnetron sputtering system was injected with argon and oxygen gas for the growth of the ZnO films. A hydrogen (H2) reduction process was performed in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber to synthesize the ZnO nanostructure (ZnO NS) through modification of the surface structure of a ZnO film. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were performed to confirm the surface and structural properties of the synthesized ZnO NS, and cyclic voltammetry was used to examine the electrochemical characteristics of the ZnO NS. Based on the Hall measurement, the ZnO NS subjected to H2 reduction had a higher electron mobility and lower resistivity than the ZnO film. The ZnO NS that was subjected to H2 reduction for 5 min and 10 min had average roughness of 3.117 nm and 3.418 nm, respectively.

In this study, the characteristics of functional films were investigated according to the number of coatings and their heat treatment times. The functional coating films were deposited on glass substrates made of the same material as the cover glass of photovoltaic (PV) modules. Each film was coated once by brushing with a special silica-based solution, and each heat treatment was done using a hot-air fan for 2 min at 300 °C. The substrates were coated once, twice, and thrice, respectively, and were annealed once, twice, and thrice by drying and cooling alternately. The specimens were then analyzed for their anti-pollution properties, contact angles, light transmittance, and mechanical properties. The anti-pollution function was confirmed through a self-cleaning test, while the contact angle and light transmittance were examined using special equipment. Mechanical properties, including hardness and adhesion, were confirmed using the standard hardness testing method (ASTM D3363) such as those using an H-9H, F, HB, or B-6B pencil (Mitsubishi, Japan) and a standard adhesion testing method (ASTM D3359). It was confirmed that the film coated once yielded a very low contact angle of 8.9° and very good anti-pollution properties. Its adhesion and strength also showed high values of 5B and 9H, respectively.

This study analyzes characteristics of anti-pollution functional coating films on glass substrates for PV modules that were coated using different methods and annealed using hot air fans. For the purpose of this study, antipollution functional coating films were applied on glass substrates made of the same material as the cover glass for PV modules. Each one of the following three coating methods: brushing, fabric and dipping was applied into separate specimens. Afterwards, all the films were rest in room temperature for 20 minutes and then annealed using hot air fans at 300 °C for 2 minutes. Specimens undergone both coating and annealing process were analyzed for their anti-pollution properties, contact angle, optical characteristics and other mechanical properties such as hardness and adhesion. Contact angle was analyzed using a contact-angle analyzer, and light transmittance was analyzed using UV-visible which is capable of utilizing the integrating sphere. Based on the results of this study, the most suitable coating method for hot-fan-annealed film was found. If the coating process proposed in this study is applied to PV modules production, improvement in anti-pollution characteristics as well as energy generation efficiency can be expected.

In this study, the characteristics of functional coating films were investigated to improve the anti-pollution properties and efficiency of PV (Photovoltaic) module according to the variation of coating film thickness. Functional coating was applied of a glass substrate, which was composed with the same material as PV module. Brush coating method was used for the coating process. We coated the functional film on the glass substrate 1, 2 and 3 times alternately in the horizontal and vertical directions to change the film thickness, and a hot air fan equipment was used as a heat treatment process for easy application to existing PV modules. The heat treatment process was performed for 2 minutes after the coating process using a hot air fan equipment. After coating and heat treatment, glass substrates were analyzed for the anti-pollution properties, contact angle, optical properties and the mechanical properties such as hardness and adhesion. The anti-pollution properties were identified through self-cleaning test. The contact angle of the functional coating film was measured by a contact angle analyzer, and the optical properties were measured via UV-visible spectroscopy, which can be used as an integrating sphere. The hardness of the functional film was measured by the standard hardness testing method using H-9H, F, HB and B-6B pencil. Also, the adhesion of the functional film was measured by the standard adhesion testing method.