3D Printing of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Embedded Transparent Sheet for Solar Panel Encapsulation and Thermal Management

The current work demonstrates 3D printing of transparent sheets embedded with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles for the encapsulation of solar panels for protection and thermal management. Thin transparent sheets were prepared via a vat-photopolymerization-based 3D printing technique. The optimized sheet showed >90% transparency with a UV ray preventing capability from the range of 200–400 nm. Due to blocking of UV rays from the solar spectrum, reduction in around ~8°C in the temperature from the surface of the solar panel was observed when the solar panel coated with ZnO embedded resin was exposed to sunlight for 30 min as compared to the surface temperature from the reference panel with resin coating only. The demonstrated sheet would thus be promising as an encapsulant and in assisting in the thermal management of the solar panel.