Lightweight and Durable PVDF-SSPF Composites for Photovoltaics Backsheet Applications: Thermal, Optical and Technical Properties

Development of New Hybrid Composites for High-Temperature Applications

Nowadays, in the automation and aircraft industries, there is a challenge in minimizing the weight of components of vehicles without losing the original properties. In this study, we fabricate hybrid composites based on fiber metal laminates; these materials could be promising composites for high-performance applications. This work is focused on analyzing the effect of high temperature (175 °C) on the mechanical properties of these kind of materials, by introducing NaOH and silane adhesion treatments between metal and prepreg layers and by using vacuum molding processes. Fabricated FML (NaOH treatment) shows a significant improvement in tensile strength in comparison with the ARALL and GLARE reported by ESA. Moreover, developed FMLs at 175 °C kept more than 70% of their tensile strength and modulus and kept 4% of tensile strain at room temperature. The prominent conclusion achieved in this work has been that excellent candidates have been obtained for a wide range of applications, including but not limited to space and aerospace applications.

Sugar Palm Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Influence of Chemical Treatments on Its Mechanical Properties

In the era of globalisation, decreasing synthetic resources, especially petroleum, have encouraged global communities to apply biomass waste as a substitute material for green technology development. The development of plastic products from lignocellulosic fibre-reinforced composites has been a hot topic among material scientists and engineers due to their abundance, sustainable in nature, and less toxic towards health. For the Malaysian scenario, sugar palm is a plant found in the wild and locally planted in certain areas in Malaysia and Indonesia. Generally, sugar palm can be harvested for traditional foods, fruits, starch sugar (gula kabung), and alcohol, whereas sugar palm fibre (SPF) is used in conventional products (brushes and brooms). Various researchers are working on the characterisation of fibre and its composites for engineering and packaging products. The main drawback of SPF is its hydrophilic behaviour, which leads to high moisture uptake and inhibits a good bond between the fibre and the matrix. Thus, a solution for this problem is by implementing chemical treatments on the fibre. From the literature review, no comprehensive review paper has been published on the influence of chemical treatment on the mechanical behaviour of SPF-reinforced polymer composites. Thus, the present review examines recent studies on the mechanical properties of sugar palm lignocellulosic fibres with various chemical treatments to evaluate their potential in structural applications.

Development of Photovoltaic Module with Fabricated and Evaluated Novel Backsheet-Based Biocomposite Materials

Photovoltaic backsheets have considerable impact on the collective performance of solar cells. Material components should withstand certain temperatures and loads while maintaining high thermal stability under various weather conditions. Solar modules must demonstrate increased reliability, adequate performance, safety, and durability throughout the course of their lifetime. This work presents a novel solar module. The module consists of an innovative polyvinylidene fluoride-short sugar palm fiber (PVDF-SSPF) composite backsheet within its structure. It was electrically and thermally evaluated. The current-voltage characteristics (I-V) were obtained using the solar module analyzer, PROVA 210PV. A thermal evaluation was accomplished using a temperature device, SDL200. The thermal test consisted of two different assessments. The first targeted the surface and backsheet of the developed module to correlate their performance from within. The second assessment compared the thermal performance of the fabricated backsheet with the conventional one. Both tests were combined into a heatmap analysis to further understand the thermal performance. Results revealed that the developed module exhibited reasonable electrical efficiency, achieving appropriate and balanced I-V curves. PVDF-SSPF backsheets proved to be thermally stable by displaying less heat absorbance and better temperature shifts. Additional research efforts are highly encouraged to investigate other characteristics. To enhance performance, further analyses are needed such as the damp heat analysis, accelerated aging analysis, and heat dissipation phenomena.