Anti-Reflection Property of SiO 2 Composite Films for Solar Cell

In this study, anti-reflection property of SiO2 based composite films were investigated. For this purpose, SiO2/TiO2, SiO2/ZnO and SiO2/TiO2/ZnO composite films were prepared using a sol-gel technique and coated on glass slides. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weight of 1500 g/mol was inserted into the SiO2 composite film as a porogen to decrease the refractive index and improve the anti-reflection property of the as-prepared film. The SiO2 films with pore structures were successfully obtained. The PEG modified SiO2/ZnO (SiO2/PEG/ZnO) film provided a water contact angle close to the water contact angle of a superhydrophilic surface. In addition, the SiO2/PEG/ZnO film exhibited the highest average transmittance of 92.7% higher than that of the uncoated glass slide. The photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the solar cell coated with the SiO2/PEG/ZnO film was very close to that of the solar cell without the film coating. Hence, the results exhibited that the SiO2/PEG/ZnO film with anti-reflection and photovoltaic conversion efficiency has a potential application on solar cells.