Encapsulation of solar cells

摘要

The present invention comprises a solar cell module and a method of encapsulating the module. The solar cell module comprises a rigid or flexible superstrate and/or substrate having one or more solar cells, and an encapsulant which is a cured liquid silicone encapsulant. The encapsulant composition preferably comprises a liquid diorganopolysiloxane having at least two Si-alkenyl groups per molecule, a silicone resin containing at least two alkenyl groups; a cross-linking agent in the form of a polyorganosiloxane having at least two silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms per molecule, in an amount such that the ratio of the number of moles of silicon-bonded hydrogen to the total number of moles of silicon-bonded alkenyl groups is from 0.1:1 to 5:1; and a hydrosilylation catalyst. The continuous solar cell module encapsulation process comprises uniformly applying a predetermined volume of a liquid silicone encapsulant onto a solar cell module and curing said encapsulant.

主权项

1. A solar cell module comprising:
(1) a rigid or flexible superstrate; (2) a silicone adhesive disposed on said superstrate and formed from a silicone adhesive composition that has a viscosity of from 100 to 2,000 mPa·s at 25° C. before curing and comprises; (Ai) 100 parts by weight of a first liquid diorganopolysiloxane having at least two Si-alkenyl groups per molecule, (Ci) a first cross-linking agent in the form of a polyorganosiloxane having at least two silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms per molecule, in an amount such that the ratio of the number of moles of silicon-bonded hydrogen to the total number of moles of silicon-bonded alkenyl groups in component (Ai) is from 0.1:1 to 1:1, and (Di) a first hydrosilylation catalyst wherein the amount of metal in said hydrosilylation catalyst is from 0.01 to 500 parts by weight per 1,000,000 parts by weight of component (Ai); (3) one or more solar cells disposed on said silicone adhesive; and (4) a silicone encapsulant disposed on said one or more solar cells and formed from a liquid silicone encapsulant composition comprising; (A) 100 parts by weight of a second liquid diorganopolysiloxane having at least two Si-alkenyl groups per molecule and a viscosity of from 100 to 10,000 mPa·s at 25° C., (C) a second cross-linking agent in the form of a polyorganosiloxane having at least two silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms per molecule, in an amount such that the ratio of the number of moles of silicon-bonded hydrogen to the total number of moles of silicon-bonded alkenyl groups in component (A) is >1:1, and (D) a second hydrosilylation catalyst wherein the amount of metal in said hydrosilylation catalyst is from 0.01 to 500 parts by weight per 1,000,000 parts by weight of component (A).