A comprehensive Review on interfacial delamination in photovoltaic modules

Delamination at various interfaces in a PV module is a prevalent degradation mode that impacts long-term performance and reliability. To prevent or mitigate delamination, understanding of its origin, types, causal factors, operating mechanisms, and effects on PV module performance is essential, which is the addressed in depth in this review. Different cause and operating mechanisms responsible for delamination such as manufacturing process fallacies, chemical properties of bill of materials, synergetic impact of environmental stressors or influence of other degradation modes have been discussed in detail, underlining the need to engineer polymer materials as per climatic conditions. Various testing and characterization techniques used to investigate delamination have been covered, highlighting the lack of an industrial standard to examine delamination. Further, delamination under different geographical locations has also been mapped based on the country, climate, module age, and delamination type. The analysis suggests that cell-encapsulant delamination is the most frequently observed degradation in infant modules specially under desert climatic conditions whose origin can majorly be traced back to manufacturing process fallacies. Based on the detailed analysis, a brief discussion on future perspectives including novel module architecture, specifically engineered polymer materials, and preventive remedies for manufacturers has been discussed. The insights provided can be used by both researchers and manufacturers to understand delamination phenomenon to devise preventive measures or develop new materials.