Journal of Solar Energy Research

Triple-Layer Photovoltaic Module with Radiative Cooling and Photocatalytic Air Purification

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mohan Babu University (Erstwhile Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College), Tirupati, India.

2 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Ballari Institute of Technology and Management, Ballari, India.

3 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, S. A. Engineering college, Chennai, India.

4 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Mother Theresa Institute of Engineering and Technology, Palamaner, India.

5 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, P. T. Lee. Chengalvaraya Naicker College of Engineering and Technology, Oovery, India.

Abstract

We present a vertically stacked triple-layer rooftop module that integrates a SiO₂–TiO₂ radiative-cooling film, a TiO₂–ZnO photocatalytic coating, and a perovskite–silicon tandem photovoltaic device. Outdoor field experiments (n = 4 prototype and n = 4 control modules; rooftop tests in Chandragiri, Andhra Pradesh, India) showed a mean surface temperature reduction of 6.5 ± 0.8 °C and a 2.1% relative increase in PV power output under AM1.5G-equivalent conditions. Simultaneously, the photocatalytic layer achieved 72.4% removal efficiency for volatile air pollutants over a 6-hour test window. Real-time monitoring used an ESP32 microcontroller, K-type thermocouples, calibrated gas sensors, and MQTT-based telemetry to a Grafana dashboard. Statistical analysis confirmed significant differences (p < 0.01) in both cooling and pollutant removal compared with controls. The proposed architecture offers a reproducible and scalable pathway to multifunctional PV modules that enhance energy yield, reduce thermal stress, and actively contribute to urban air quality improvement addressing both environmental and energy challenges in a single integrated solution.

Keywords

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Journal of Solar Energy Research
Volume 10, Issue 3
July 2025
Pages 2450-2464