Hybrid solar photovoltaic conversion and water desalination via quad-band fano-resonant optical coatings and superwicking cooling

Ran Wei; Tianshu Xu; Mingjiang Ma; Mohamed Elkabbash; Chunlei Guo

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-01796-z

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Hybrid solar photovoltaic conversion and water desalination via quad-band fano-resonant optical coatings and superwicking cooling

Original Articles

- Hybrid solar photovoltaic conversion and water desalination via quad-band fano-resonant optical coatings and superwicking cooling
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 6, Pages: 1662-1672(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
  2.Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Author bio：
  
  Mohamed Elkabbash (melkabbash@arizona.edu)
  Chunlei Guo (guo@optics.rochester.edu)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-01796-z
  CLC：
- Received：17 July 2024，
  
  Revised：26 January 2025，
  
  Accepted：17 February 2025，
  
  Published Online：17 April 2025，
  
  Published：30 June 2025
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Wei, R. et al. Hybrid solar photovoltaic conversion and water desalination via quad-band fano-resonant optical coatings and superwicking cooling. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 1662-1672 (2025).
DOI：

Wei, R. et al. Hybrid solar photovoltaic conversion and water desalination via quad-band fano-resonant optical coatings and superwicking cooling. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 1662-1672 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-01796-z.

摘要

Abstract

Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (HPT) systems simultaneously convert solar energy into electrical power and thermal energy. These systems are attractive as they enable the thermal management of PV cells to maintain optimal operating temperatures and maximize the overall solar energy conversion. Despite their advantages

HPT systems have been limited to storing solar energy in the form of heat or simple water/space heating

thus restricting the broader application scope of HPT systems

particularly in regions with abundant solar energy. Here

we introduce a device that expands the scope of HPT applications by realizing a hybrid PV/ water desalination system

achieved through the integration of a Fano-resonant optical coating (FROC) onto a silicon substrate

which is turned superwicking via femtosecond laser surface patterning. This configuration allows a single-junction amorphous silicon solar cell to operate under higher solar concentrations with much less heat conversion

achieving a temperature reduction of 101 ℃ and an efficiency improvement of 335.7% compared to a standalone photovoltaic system under the solar concentration of 5. At the same time

the interfacial water desalination achieves a 2

$${kg}{m}^{-2}{h}^{-1}$$

high evaporation rate. Over a 12-hour cycle

our HPT system showed a consistent performance

demonstrating a combined solar conversion efficiency of 79.6%. The demonstrated superwicking-FROC will pave the way for widespread adoption of HPT systems particularly in sunny coastal regions.

关键词

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references

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