Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.4
2.8
Journals
Coatings
Special Issues
Surface Functionalization of Photovoltaic Materials
share announcement

Surface Functionalization of Photovoltaic Materials

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Engineering for Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2026 | Viewed by 213

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Feiyu Diao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Industrial Research Institute of Nonwovens & Technical Textiles, Shandong Center for Engineered Nonwovens, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, No 308 Ningxia Road, Qingdao 266017, China
Interests: photovoltaic materials; surface functionalization; defect passivation; interface charge transport; interface microstructure characterization
Prof. Dr. Rong Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Industrial Research Institute of Nonwovens & Technical Textiles, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Interests: fiber-based advanced materials; functional textiles; textile applications and technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surface functionalization has become a transformative strategy for addressing long-standing bottlenecks in photovoltaic (PV) technology, directly impacting device efficiency, environmental durability, and scalability—key pillars for the advancement of solar energy as a dominant renewable energy source. As PV materials (silicon, perovskites, thin-film semiconductors, and organic photovoltaics) face inherent challenges such as interface charge recombination, poor resistance to UV radiation or moisture, and limited light-harvesting capabilities, tailored surface modifications offer precise solutions to mitigate these issues. This Special Issue aims to serve as a comprehensive platform for the dissemination of cutting-edge research and critical reviews that bridge fundamental insights into surface–interface chemistry with practical advancements in PV device engineering.

We welcome contributions focusing on, but not limited to, the following:

  • Novel functional coating designs;
  • Nanostructure-enabled surface modification;
  • Defect passivation strategies;
  • In situ/ex situ characterization techniques;
  • Computational modeling to predict surface–interface interactions;
  • The scalability of functionalization processes;
  • Long-term stability of modified PV devices.

Dr. Feiyu Diao
Prof. Dr. Rong Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • surface functionalization
  • interface engineering
  • functional coating
  • nanostructured surface
  • characterization techniques

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 5247 KB  
Article
Thin-Layer Dust Accumulation Effects on Photovoltaic Modules and Design Optimization for the Module Structure
by Linzhao Hao, Xingrong Zhu, Ayipaiyili Yuetikuer, Jianyong Zhan, Xingyun Ye, Genxiang Zhong and Jicheng Zhou
Coatings 2025, 15(12), 1442; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15121442 - 8 Dec 2025
Viewed by 135
Abstract
The output power of photovoltaic modules is significantly reduced by solar irradiance shading. To address this issue, innovative strategies for mitigating shading effects have been continuously explored. In this study, detailed research on the edge dust accumulation effect of modules has been conducted. [...] Read more.
The output power of photovoltaic modules is significantly reduced by solar irradiance shading. To address this issue, innovative strategies for mitigating shading effects have been continuously explored. In this study, detailed research on the edge dust accumulation effect of modules has been conducted. It is found that under vertical installation, when the shading ratio reaches 50%, the output power of full-cell modules decreases by 42%, while that of half-cell modules drops by only 27%. Moreover, when the shading ratio reaches 100%, the output power of full-cell modules declines by nearly 99%. In contrast, half-cell modules are still able to maintain nearly 50% of their output power. These results demonstrate that half-cell modules exhibit significantly better resistance to shading compared to full-cell modules. On the other hand, under a horizontal layout, power degradation for both full-cell and half-cell modules is observed to be approximately 16% when the shading ratio is 25%, and around 36% when the coverage reaches 50%. Experimental results further revealed that shading under horizontal orientation leads to a multi-peak power output profile, which poses a risk of the PV inverter being trapped in local maxima. Overall, half-cell modules demonstrated better resistance to dust-induced shading under both layouts. Based on these findings, novel module design schemes are proposed to enhance resistance to dust accumulation effects. The proposed method can effectively reduce power losses caused by edge dust-induced shading and improve the annual power generation of PV modules, thereby offering technical support for effectively enhancing the operational stability of PV power generation systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Functionalization of Photovoltaic Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-1
Back to TopTop