The present invention relates to edge sealant compositions having reactive or unsaturated polyolefins, and more particularly, edge sealants having reactive or unsaturated polyolefins that can be used in solar modules.
Photovoltaic solar panels or modules generally include a photovoltaic device that is laminated and/or sandwiched between a plurality of layers. The majority of photovoltaic devices are rigid wafer-based crystalline silicon cells or thin film modules having cadmium telluride (Cd—Te), amorphous silicon, or copper-indium-diselenide (CuInSe2) deposited on a substrate. The thin film solar modules may be either rigid or flexible. Flexible thin film cells and modules are created by depositing the photoactive layer and any other necessary substance on a flexible substrate. Photovoltaic devices are connected electrically to one another and to other solar panels or modules to form an integrated system.
The efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels is lessened by intrusion of moisture. One effective method of lessening this transfer of moisture from the environment to the interior, moisture sensitive portion of the solar module is to use edge sealants. These edge sealants have the property of having a low rate of moisture transmission, MVT.
Edge sealants in solar modules are exposed to high temperatures, for example, in the lamination step during construction of the solar module. Accordingly, it is desirable that these edge sealants have thermal stability. Most of edge sealants are polyolefinic in nature. Therefore, the dominant degradation mechanism during high temperature exposure is random chain scission. Once these free radicals are formed (as a consequence of random chain scission), the degradation propagates. In addition to this, the applications where sealants will be exposed to thermal/photo initiators (such as encapsulants, for example, EVA, in solar modules), those initiators would tend to degrade sealants. This may have detrimental ramifications (e.g. strength loss, loss of adhesion to glass) with respect to sealants' bulk and surface properties. Accordingly, there is room in the art for an edge sealant that exhibits good thermal stability in high temperature conditions and resistance to degradation (long term stability in the field) upon exposure to initiators (encapsulant) in solar modules.
A solar module includes a photovoltaic device that has an edge seal. The sealant composition of the edge seal includes an unsaturated or reactive polyolefin, an olefinic polymer, a silane modified polyolefin, inert fillers, a water scavenger or desiccant, an antioxidant, and a UV stabilizer. These components are balanced to produce a sealant having desirable sealing characteristics, high weatherability, desired rheology, low conductivity, and good thermal stability.
Further features, advantages, and areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
With reference to
The photovoltaic cell 12 is operable to generate an electrical current from sunlight striking the photovoltaic cell 12. Accordingly, the photovoltaic cell 12 may take various forms without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the photovoltaic cell 12 may be a thin film cell with a layer of cadmium telluride (Cd—Te), amorphous silicon, or copper-indium-diselenide (CuInSe2). Alternatively, the photovoltaic cell 12 may be a crystalline silicon wafer embedded in a laminating film or gallium arsenide deposited on germanium or another substrate. Other types of photovoltaic devices 12 that may be employed include organic semiconductor cells having conjugate polymers as well as dye-sensitized metal oxides including wet metal oxides and solid metal oxides. The photovoltaic device 12 may be either rigid or flexible. The photovoltaic cells 12 are linked either in series or in parallel or combinations thereof. The current produced by the photovoltaic devices 12 are communicated via bus bars or other conductive materials or layers to wires or lead lines 15 that exit the solar module 10. The lead lines 15 communicate with a junction box 17 in order to distribute the electrical current generated by the solar module 10 to a power circuit.
The first substrate 14, or front panel, is formed from a material operable to allow wavelengths of sunlight to pass therethrough. For example, the first substrate 14 is glass or a plastic film such as polyvinylflouride. The second substrate 16, or back panel, is selected to provide additional strength to the solar module 10. For example, the second substrate 16 is a plastic such as fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer (FEP), poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and combinations of these with other polymeric materials.
The photovoltaic cells 12 are encapsulated by a laminate layer 19 that is preferably cross-linkable ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA). However, it should be appreciated that other laminates or thermoplastic encapsulants may be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention. The laminate layer 19 is used to partially encapsulate the photovoltaic device 12 to protect the photovoltaic device 12 from contamination, mechanical stress, and from the environment.
A border or edge seal 18 is located near an edge of the solar module 10 between the first substrate 14 and the second substrate 16. The border seal 18 may have various widths. In addition, a second border seal (not shown) may also be included. The second border seal may be comprised of, for example, for example, a silicone, an MS polymer, a Silanated Polyurethane, a butyl, or a polysulfide. The border seal 18 is operable to seal the laminate layer 19 and photovoltaic devices 12. The border seal 18 must have sufficient weatherability to withstand exposure to outside environments including prolonged ultra-violet radiation exposure, have low moisture and vapor transmission (MVT), and have low conductivity. The border seal 20 is comprised of a sealant composition having the unique characteristics of high weatherability with low conductivity and MVT, as will be described in greater detail below, as well as good thermal stability and oxidative stability.
The sealant composition of the border seal 18 includes an unsaturated or reactive polyolefin, an olefinic polymer, a silane modified polyolefin, inert fillers, a water scavenger, an antioxidant, and a UV stabilizer. These components are balanced to produce a sealant having desirable sealing characteristics, high weatherability, desired rheology, low conductivity, and good thermal stability.
In some embodiments of the sealant, the unsaturated or reactive polyolefins are selected from the group EPDMs, polyolefin acrylates, and halobutyls. The olefinic polymers are selected from the group comprising polyisobutylene, polybutene, butyl rubber (polyisobutylene-isoprene), styrene block copolymers, especially SBS, SIS, SEBS, SEPS, SIBS, SPIBS, also in modified form, and amorphous copolymers and/or terpolymers of α-olefins (APAO).
The scope of the invention provides for the modified polymer to be selected from the group comprising polyisobutylene, polybutene, butyl rubber (polyisobutylene-isoprene), styrene block copolymers, especially SBS, SIS, SEBS, SEPS, SIBS, SPIBS, also in modified form, and amorphous copolymers and/or terpolymers of α-olefins (APAO), the polymer being modified with at least one group of formula (1) which is a terminal group or is distributed statistically within the chain
It is also within the scope of the invention for the fillers to be selected from the group comprising ground and precipitated chalks, silicates, lime, silicon oxides and carbon blacks.
In this connection, the invention also provides for the chalks to be surface-treated.
However, it is also possible to use non-surface-treated chalks.
The invention furthermore provides for the silicates to be selected from the group comprising talc, kaolin, mica, silicon oxides, silicas and calcium or magnesium silicates.
It is also with the scope of the invention for the desiccants or water scavengers to be selected from molecular sieves (zeolites) of types 3A to 10A.
Of course, other substances that bond water chemically or physically may also be used.
It is possible to formulate the sealing compound either as a one-part sealing compound or as a two-part sealing compound. In the case of a one-part sealing compound, all the components are mixed together during the production process. In the case of a two-part sealing compound, some components form one part and the other components form the other part. The two parts of the compound are then mixed together immediately prior to application.
The invention also provides for the aging resistors to be selected from the group comprising sterically hindered phenols, thioethers, mercapto compounds, phosphorus esters, benzotriazoles, benzophenones, HALS and antiozonants.
In various implementations, the sealing compound can be employed for fabricating insulating glass for windows, conservatories, structural and roof glazing, for glazing in land-bound vehicles, watercraft and aircraft, and for manufacturing solar modules, including thermoelectric solar modules. The sealing compound with unsaturated or reactive polyolefin in addition to a silane modified polymer is designed to cure during lamination to provide additional structural strength.
As a proof-of-concept, the following unsaturated or reactive polyolefins were tested: Exxpro 3433 (Exxon), Lanxess bromobutyl 2030 (Lanxess), EPDM (Vistalon 5601) (Exxon), and Exxon chlorobutyl 1068. All samples were incubated in 180° C. air circulated ovens for 7 days and weighed to calculate the weight loss. The weight loss is proportional to the extent of thermal degradation (converse of thermal stability). Exposure to 180° C. air circulated ovens for 7 days was chosen as an extreme condition to investigate the thermal stability of polymers. Butyls would tend to undergo an extensive thermal degradation under these extreme conditions, resulting in significant weight loss. The predominant degradation mechanism under these conditions is more likely the random chain scission, until the point that small enough molecules are formed that will be carried away by air, resulting in weight loss. Also, oxygen will accelerate the rate of the thermal degradation, since once a radical is formed by random chain scission, oxygen molecules would react with it to form alkoxy and peroxy radicals. The reactivity of unsaturated rubbers tends to use these free radicals and stop further degradation. In many cases, it has been observed that the combination of unsaturation and radicals leads to molecular weight build-up and/or cross linking, further increasing the strength. It can be clearly seen from
The reactive and/or unsaturation sites were observed to react with free radicals formed upon high temperature exposure leading to minimal degradation (if any) and improved thermal stability. The edge seal exhibits low MVTR and can cross-link upon reaction with free radicals, where the free radicals may be the result of thermal or thermo-oxidative degradation or reaction with peroxides contained in encapsulants in the solar module. In addition, the edge sealant exhibits less than 10% weight loss upon aging in an air circulated oven at 180 degree C. for 7 days, an accelerated aging test as a measure of thermal and thermo-oxidative stability. More preferably, the edge sealant exhibits less than 7.5% weight loss upon aging in an air circulated oven at 180 degrees C. for 7 days.
Of particular interest are the EPDM polymers, which contain an unsaturated polymeric backbone comprised of monomers of ethylene and propylene with a small but significant amount of at least one non-conjugated diene, such as norbornadiene, dicyclopentadiene, and/or 1,5-hexadiene. The significance is that with the various EPDM polymers, a preferential duality exists: While the backbone is fully saturated and thereby highly stable and non-reactive toward most moieties including peroxides and other oxidants, the presence of occasional double bonds in the side chains allows for crosslinking, and should these side chain bonds cleave, the backbone remains intact.
Note that in
EPDM also affords reactivity and saturated backbone without inclusion of halogens such as chlorine or bromine. Offgassing of hydrochroric and hydrobromic acids is not possible with EPDM.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference is made to the following examples which are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not limit the scope thereof:
where for each of the examples the components are:
Unsaturate reactive polyolefins such as EPDMs, polyolefin acrylates, and halobutyls of Molecular weight Mn 100-100,000 Da preferabaly 100-500,000 Da
Olefinic polymer: Polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polyisobutene, butyl rubber (polyisobutene-isoprene) styrene block copolymers (in modified form as well): For all olefinic polymers Mol wt (Mn 100-1,000, 000 Da, preferabaly 100-300,000 Da)
Silanes: DFDA-5451NT (silane grafted PE from Dow Chemical), DFDA-5481 NT (moisture curing catalyst from Dow Chemical), amorphous poly alpha olefins (such as and not restricted to Vestoplast 206, Vestoplast 2412), alkoxy silanes, amino silanes
Inert fillers: ground and precipitated chalks, silicates, silicon oxides, and Carbon black, CaCO3, Ca(OH)2, titanium dioxide Silicates to be selected from the group comprising talc, kaolin, mica, silicon oxide, silicas, and calcium or magnesium silicates
Water scavenger such as CaO or desiccant such as molecular sieves, silica gel, and calcium sulfate
Aging Resistors: Hindered phenols, hindered amines, thioethers, mercapto compounds, phosphorous esters benzotriazoles, benzophenones, and antiozonants
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/251,542, filed on Oct. 14, 2009, and is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/679,250, filed on Mar. 19, 2010, which claims the benefit of International Application No. PCT/DE/2008/001564, filed on Sep. 22, 2008, which claims the benefit of German priority document DE/10 2007 045 104.2, filed on Sep. 20, 2007. The contents of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US2010/052718 | 10/14/2010 | WO | 00 | 4/13/2012 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61251542 | Oct 2009 | US |