Soda-lime Glass Research Articles

Prevention of potential‐induced degradation using a moisture barrier in crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules

AbstractAs photovoltaic (PV) modules are exposed to high temperatures and humidity over time, they generate leakage current, which leads to potential‐induced degradation (PID) and lower power output. In silicon, Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGS) thin film and perovskite solar cells, PID has been shown to be driven by the presence of Na in the module glass. PID stability is crucial for the commercialization of such solar modules. This study aims to confirm the leaching phenomenon of Na in soda–lime module glass and study the use of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as a moisture barrier to prevent PID. By water immersion and exposure to different temperature and humidity conditions, we exhibited Na leaching in soda–lime glass. Moreover, we demonstrate the use of an anti‐PID moisture barrier made of PTFE, which was deposited using kinetic spraying between the cover glass and encapsulant in the solar module. The thickness of the moisture barrier was controlled by adjusting the deposition rate, and the PID characteristics were evaluated by manufacturing solar modules for different barrier thicknesses. Light current–voltage (LIV), dark current–voltage (DIV), and electroluminescence (EL) measurements confirmed that the PTFE moisture barrier effectively inhibits the degradation of solar cells. This study provides further insights into the Na leaching phenomenon and PID mechanism in PV modules and contributes to the design and development of more stable solar cells.

Immobilization of simulated 137Cs in waste soda-lime glass modified by Ca, Ba, and B2O3

Immobilization of simulated 137Cs in waste soda-lime glass modified by Ca, Ba, and B2O3

Continuous Feed Grinding Milling Process of Soda-Lime Glass Using Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics

A smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) modeling technique was applied in conjunction with the Johnson–Holmquist (JH-2) ceramic material constitutive model to replicate the fracture of soda-lime glass in a milling manufacturing process. Four-point bending tests were conducted to validate the soda-lime glass bulk material properties prior to its implementation in ABAQUS CAE™ Explicit (Version 2017). The JH-2 material constitutive model replicated the fracture load and time to fracture for the four-point bending load cases as per ASTM C158. This study showed how SPH in combination with a validated JH-2 material model in a milling process simulation was able to replicate the output size distribution at 5000 and 6500 revolutions per minute (RPM). For operations at 3000 RPM or lower, it was shown that it is necessary to include additional effects in the model, such as fluid–structure interactions, to improve the correlation with the experimental data. The SPH model was validated through an experimental campaign using high-speed cameras and a particle Camsizer. The experimental results clearly indicate a direct relation between the mill’s RPM and the output particle size distribution.

Tuning optical and electrical characteristics through Cu doping in spray pyrolysis fabricated Cr2O3 thin films

This study focuses on the physical properties of thin films of Cr2O3 and Cu-doped Cr2O3 (1−4 % Cu), with a thickness of approximately ∼500 nm. These films were deposited on preheated soda-lime glass substrates using the spray pyrolysis technique. The characterization of the thin films was carried out through Raman spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, and the four-point probe technique. The Raman analysis revealed vibrational modes associated with Eg and A1g symmetries in Cr2O3. The optical band gap energy exhibited a decrease from 2.92 eV to 2.6 eV with an increase in Cu content. The study also involved the evaluation of extinction coefficient, refractive index, dielectric constants, and optical conductivity of the thin films. The dispersion of the refractive index was studied using the single oscillator model (Wemple-DiDomenico). The electrical resistivity values decreased from 1000 Ω-cm to 33 Ω-cm with increasing Cu content. Notably, Cr2O3 thin films with 4 % Cu content demonstrated the best figure of merit, recording a value of 4.66 M Ω−1.

Effect of substrate temperature on structure, morphology and optical properties of Sb2Se3 thin films fabricated by chemical-molecular beam deposition method from Sb and Se precursors for solar cells

Sb2Se3 thin films were obtained by chemical-molecular beam deposition on soda-lime glass from high purity Sb and Se precursors at 400 °C, 450 °C and 500 °C substrate temperature. Due to the precise control of the Sb/Se ratio, Sb2Se3 thin films with stoichiometric composition were obtained, which was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. The effect of substrate temperature on morphology, structure and optical properties of Sb2Se3 thin-films were studied by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and from the analysis of absorption and transmission spectra of the films. Average diameters and lengths of Sb2Se3 rods deposited at different substrate temperature were the range of 0.5–2 µm and 1–4 µm respectively which was grown at different slope and compactness to the substrate. The optical bandgap of the films was determined from the transmission and reflection spectra and 1.16, 1.21 and 1.26 eV band gap energies were observed for 500, 450 and 400 ℃ substrate temperature Sb2Se3 thin films respectively.

Fabrication and Characterization of Colorant-Doped Glass Produced with Local Sand of Nong Phok Site

It is well-known that silica sand is a special type of quartz sand that is suitable for glass fabrication due to its high silica content and low content of iron oxide. In this work, chemical analysis has been carried out on a sand sample from the Nong Phok site, Roi Et province, northeastern Thailand. The geological resources show that this site possesses a surface-to-near surface sand deposit. The grain of fine white sand consists of clear crystals. The grain shape is mainly angular-to-round. Chemical analysis shows that the sand contains more than 99 wt% silica and small amounts of Al, Ca, Ti, and Zr which is in agreement with international standards for glass production. The sand has been used as raw material for the fabrication of soda-lime, lead crystal, and lead-free high refractive index glasses. The colorless and various colored glass products have been satisfactorily used in domestic art and glass manufacturers which promotes local employment and economics.

Performance evaluation of an optically transparent microstrip patch antenna for 5G applications using ITO and sodalime glass substrate

Transparent antennas are one of the futuristic gadgets that can act as an asset to the expansion of Green technology. The unique characteristic of these antennas is that it is possible to integrate them with solar panel glasses without hampering their performance and also in window glasses without blocking sunlight. These features make them desirable for use in smart homes, vehicles, satellites, etc. for Wi-Fi and Radar systems. In this study, we proposed an optically transparent Microstrip Patch Antenna (MPA) to operate at the C band. The MPA is made of a Soda-lime glass substrate, with Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) in the patch and ground. It has a dimension of 24 × 31.5 mm2 and a gain of 1.247 dB at the resonating frequency (5.30 GHz). The proposed MPA (PMPA) has a modified ground plane which enhances the bandwidth to 990 MHz in (4.86 − 5.85) GHz range. This bandwidth is 6 times larger than a transparent MPA with a full ground plane. Finally, the proposed MPA (PMPA) has been fabricated and the return loss characteristic has been observed. The measured result supports that the antenna is suitable for 5G applications.

Zinc sulfide thin films deposited by chemical bath: Tuning consideration of structural, optical band gap, and electrical properties for CIGS solar cells application

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) is widely employed in a solar cell structure as a buffer layer due to its excellent physical and chemical properties. ZnS elements discovered in the earth's crust are safe. This study examined the performance characteristics of ZnS thin films deposited on soda lime glass substrate via chemical bath deposition. The ZnS thin films were annealed at temperatures of 300, 400, and 500 °C in a vacuum environment. XRD showed the ZnS thin films with high annealing temperatures are composed of a wurtzite structure. Increased annealing temperature improved crystallization, average crystallite sizes, film thickness, and low dislocation density as well as lattice strain. The FESEM analysis reveals that the morphology of annealed thin film at high temperatures has larger grains compared to the deposited films. EDS spectra confirm that zinc and sulfur are present in the ZnS thin film. Annealed films have an average transmission of 20–50 % in the visible spectrum of 300–1100 nm. Films exhibit 103 Ωcm resistivity, and the bulk carrier density ranges between 1012 and 1014 cm−3. The annealed film at 500 °C has a direct band gap of 3.47 eV, a resistivity of 1.79 × 103 Ωcm, and a bulk concentration of 1.19 × 1014 cm−3. All ZnS thin films have n-type conductivity.

Modeling brittle crack propagation for varying critical load levels: a dynamic phase-field approach

AbstractBrittle materials are known for their violent and unpredictable cracking behavior. A behavior which is dictated by a combination of microscopical material defects and the competition between the potential energy of the system and the surface energy of the material. In this study, we present the implementation of a dynamic fracture phase-field model with a new crack driving force into a commercial finite element (FE) solver and examine its behavior using three different tension-compression splits. After validating the implementation, we use the model to investigate its predictive capacity on quasi-statically loaded L-shaped soda-lime glass specimens with varying critical load levels. The dynamic fracture phase-field model predicted similar crack propagation to what was found in the literature for quasi-static and dynamic validation cases. By varying the critical load level for the L-shaped soda-lime glass specimens using the new crack driving force, the model predicted a positive correlation between the initial crack propagation speed and the critical load level, similar to what was seen in the experiments. However, the predicted crack propagation speed decreased quicker than the experimental crack propagation speed. The tension-compression splits had an impact on the predicted crack propagation paths. Overall, the proposed crack driving force used in the dynamic fracture phase-field model seems to capture the relation between critical load and initial crack propagation speed and thus enables crack predictions for specimens of varying strength.

Comparative study on the effect of substrates on electrical properties of tin and chromium thin films

In thin film technology, substrate materials happen to be one of the deposition parameters that determine the physical properties of films. Hence, soda-lime glass and quartz continue to be the widely utilized substrate materials because of their high-frequency performance, price, and surface quality. For certain applications, various substrate materials that provide an acceptable compromise for the work at hand are required. Soda-lime glass and quartz have been chosen as the substrates for the tin and chromium thin films that will be produced via thermal evaporation in a vacuum. A comparative study on the electrical properties of chromium films was made in the light of Fuchs–Sondheimer and Mayadas–Shatzkes theories. Numerous physical properties, including resistivity of infinitely thick film, sticking coefficient, conduction electron mean free, etc., may be determined from resistivity-thickness data.

Microstrain effects of laser-ablated Au nanoparticles in enhancing CZTS-based 1 Sun photodetector devices.

Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) thin films were synthesized on soda lime glass using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at room temperature. Introducing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a sandwich structure led to increased CZTS particle size and a shift in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of the AuNPs, influenced by different laser energy levels. The absorption measurements revealed intriguing behavior across the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions, making these films appealing for 1 Sun photodetectors. Furthermore, the presence of AuNPs in the sandwich structure reduced microstrain effects, measuring 1.94 × 10-3 compared to 3.38 × 10-3 in their absence. This reduction directly enhances carrier transport, which is particularly beneficial for accelerating the performance of photodetector devices. This effect of AuNPs also contributed to higher dielectric coefficients, further improving the photodetector performance. Under 1 Sun illumination conditions, this enhancement resulted in a rapid rising time of 95.4 ms, showcasing the potential for faster photodetection.

Hydrophobicity of laser-textured soda-lime glass

This paper studies the effect of the modified soda-lime glass surface that reduces water adhesion and raises the water contact angle by modifying the laser processing parameter. The study looked at how these variables affected the water contact angle and surface morphology. The characterization was performed using an inverted metallurgical microscope for surface morphology, and a sessile drop test setup for water contact angle measurement and bricklayer pattern with two different hatch spacings of 0.3 and 0.5 mm was used. The results revealed that the highest water contact angle achieved after surface modification for 0.3 mm was 98.97° at 1000 mm/min and 1.0 W while for 0.5 mm at 93.01°, at 600 mm/min and 1.2 W, improved its hydrophobicity from untextured glass 32.35°. Both sample patterns with 0.3 and 0.5 mm show no defect and all samples seem to have a mark from laser texturing with an increase in power, the laser mark on the surface becomes wider and the large gap between the line becomes more distinct. These findings are significant for designing hydrophobic glass surfaces using laser texturing.

Sustainable ambient pressure-dried silica aerogel from waste glass

Silica aerogels are outstanding insulation materials, and applying them as building insulation could significantly enhance the energy efficiency of dwellings. However, the current high price of aerogels hinders their use on large scales, in part due to the embedded costs of production such as raw materials and their energy-intensive drying process. This study proposes a method relying on the upcycling of waste mixed fine soda lime glass as a silica source for subsequent aerogel synthesis via ambient pressure drying (APD). The optimal conditions for the dissolution of silica from waste glass were found to be a 24-h reaction with a 4 M NaOH solution under 80 °C and a liquid-to-solid ratio of 10. The investigation of silica dissolution considers the balance between the yield of silica and the practical scalability. The resulting aerogel is hydrophobic, has a thermal conductivity of 26 mW m−1 K−1, a specific surface area of 608 m2 g−1, and a density of 121 kg/m3. These properties are comparable to commercial aerogel, and to a reference aerogel made from commercial sodium silicate. Additionally, the heat treatment of aerogel at 500 °C for 4 h further improved its properties, suggesting a potential for targeted property enhancements.

Comprehensive study of nanostructured Bi2Te3 thermoelectric materials - insights from synchrotron radiation XRD, XAFS, and XRF techniques.

In this contribution, a comprehensive study of nanostructured Bi2Te3 (BT) thermoelectric material was performed using a combination of synchrotron radiation-based techniques such as XAFS, and XRF, along with some other laboratory techniques such as XRD, XPS, FESEM, and HRTEM. This study aims to track the change in morphological, compositional, average and local/electronic structures of Bi2Te3 of two different phases; nanostructure (thin film) and nanopowders (NPs). Bi2Te3 nanomaterial was fabricated as pellets using zone melting process in a one step process, while Bi2Te3 thin film was deposited on sodalime glass substrate using a vacuum thermal evaporation technique. Synchrotron radiation-based Bi LIII-edge fluorescence-mode X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) technique was performed to probe locally the electronic and fine structures of BT thin film around the Bi atom, while transmission-mode XAFS was used for BT NPs distributed in the PVP matrix. The structural features of the collected Bi LIII XANES spectra of thin film and powder samples of BT are compared with the simulated XANES spectrum of BT calculated using FDMNES code at 5 Å cluster size. Combining different off-line structural characterization techniques (XRD, FESEM, XPS, and HRTEM), along with those of synchrotron radiation-based techniques (XAFS and XRF) is necessary for complementary and supported average crystal, chemical, morphological and local electronic structural analyses for unveiling the variation between Bi2Te3 in the nanostructure/thin film and nanopowder morphology, and then connecting between the structural features and functions of BT in two different morphologies. After that, we measured the Seebeck coefficient and the power factor values for both the BT nanopowder and thin film.

Thermoelectric Sensor with CuI Supported on Rough Glass.

Thermoelectric generators convert heat into a potential difference with arrays of p- and n-type materials, a process that allows thermal energy harvesting and temperature detection. Thermoelectric sensors have attracted interest in relation to the creation of temperature and combustible gas sensors due to their simple operation principle and self-powering ability. CuI is an efficient p-type thermoelectric material that can be readily produced from a Cu layer by an iodination method. However, the vapor iodination of Cu has the disadvantage of weak adhesion on a bare glass substrate due to stress caused by crystal growth, limiting microfabrication applications of this process. This work presents a rough soda-lime glass substrate with nanoscale cavities to support the growth of a CuI layer, showing good adhesion and enhanced thermoelectric sensitivity. A rough glass sample with nanocavities is developed by reactive ion etching of a photoresist-coated glass sample in which aggregates of carbon residuals and the accumulation of NaF catalyze variable etching rates to produce local isotropic etching and roughening. A thermoelectric sensor consists of 41 CuI/In-CoSb3 thermoelectric leg pairs with gold electrodes for electrical interconnection. A thermoelectric leg has a width of 25 μm, a length of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 μm. The thermoelectric response results in an open-circuit voltage of 13.7 mV/K on rough glass and 0.9 mV/K on bare glass under ambient conditions. Rough glass provides good mechanical interlocking and introduces important variations of the crystallinity and composition in the supported thermoelectric layers, leading to enhanced thermopower.

Physio-Mechanical Characterization of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate and Soda-Lime Glass Waste Composite for Roof Tile Application

Physio-Mechanical Characterization of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate and Soda-Lime Glass Waste Composite for Roof Tile Application

Effect of water vapor on fining and viscosity of soda-lime glass melts

Effect of water vapor on fining and viscosity of soda-lime glass melts

Comparison of the influence of the type of acidic environment on the properties of acid-resistant alkali-activated cements

The article is devoted to the study of acid resistance of materials developed on the basis of hybrid alkali-activated cements and includes the results obtained during previous studies focused in this direction. This directly concerns the composite compositions of the received cements.The relevance of the research is ensured by the need of the world market of building materials for modern, effective materials that will retain high acid resistance indicators along with increased physical, mechanical and technological characteristics. After all, as is known, traditional acid-resistant cements based on liquid potassium and sodium glass, although they provide appropriate values of resistance to the influence of an acidic environment, are extremely sensitive to the influence of water, which greatly reduces their service life. And materials based on Portland cement are generally not characterized by acid resistance due to the high content of portlandite (Ca(OH)2), highly basic calcium hydrosilicates and ettringite in the structure of hardened cement stone. That is why alkali-activated systems were chosen as the basis, the experience of working with them confirms the effectiveness of their use in the development of this research area.In the course of this study, a comparative characterization of the influence of the type of aggressive environment on the processes of structure formation of cement stone and the formation of acid-resistant phases is conducted. 5% solutions of hydrochloric (HCl) and nitric (HNO3) acids were used for the study. The obtained results not only confirm the possibility of using such cements in the conditions of an aggressive environment with a low pH, but also reflect the degree and influence of this type of environment on the material made according to the presented compositions. Thus, the compressive strength of the samples made according to these tested compositions after 90 days of exposure in hydrochloric and nitric acid solutions ranges from 43.1 MPa to 45.7 MPa and from 47.1 MPa to 49.7 MPa, respectively.

SIMULATION STUDIES OF CR DOPED CUO HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL

1% and 3% Cr doped CuO thin films have been deposited on soda lime glass by spin coating method and then their structural, morphological and optical properties have been investigated by operating X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis) techniques, respectively. XRD patterns of CuO:Cr (1%) and CuO:Cr (3%) thin films demonstrate characteristics of monoclinic CuO structure with a C2/c space group. The morphology of coated film plays an important role in analyzing some optoelectronic properties. 1% Cr doped CuO thin film absorbs more photons compared to 3% Cr doped CuO in Vis and UV regions. The band gaps of 1% Cr and 3% Cr doped CuO thin films are to be 2.18 eV and 2.30 eV, respectively. The Mo/1% and 3% Cr doped CuO/n-ZnO/i-ZnO/AZO solar cell has modelled with SCAPS-1D simulation program. The photovoltaic (PV) parameters of solar cell deteriorated with some increase in the neutral defect density (N_t) value. As the shallow acceptor defect density (N_a) value is increased, J_SC is decreased, V_OC, FF and η are increased. PV performance of 1% Cr doped CuO solar cell were found to be better than that of 3% Cr doped CuO solar cell. The efficiency of 1% Cr doped CuO solar cell is increased with the use of SnO2 intermediate layer in 2 nm thickness at the heterojunction interface.

Glasses with biocompatible Au/Ag NPs of governed composition

Silver-gold alloy nanoparticles were grown using heat treatment of soda-lime glass slides with depercolated gold film subjected to silver-to-sodium ion exchange. Varying the regime of the heat treatment allows one to control the proportion of silver in the nanoparticles and adjust the spectral position of their local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the spectral range between the resonances of gold and silver nanoparticles. The position of LSPR in gold nanoparticles can be shifted by 15% via their dilution by silver in 50 wt % concentration. This shift is accompanied by only a 3% decrease in HeLa cell viability on the slides with alloy nanoparticles on the surface and by a slight decrease in the cell functionality/adhesion (FA) that show the biocompatibility of these nanoparticles. On the contrary, a notable decrease in the viability and ∼100% drop of FA were registered for the slides with purely silver nanoparticles.