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Hydrogel-Based Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Systems: Mechanisms, Materials Design, and Performance Benchmarking
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Hydrogel Cooling for Photovoltaic Systems
DOI: 10.64388/IREV9I10-1716793
Abstract
The power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells deteriorates markedly as operating temperatures rise above ambient, with silicon-based modules losing roughly 0.45% of efficiency per degree Celsius of excess heat. Conventional active cooling—water spraying, forced-air circulation— restores performance but consumes electricity and complicates installation. Passive evaporative cooling by hydrogels presents a zero-energy alternative that exploits the large latent heat of water vaporization (approximately 2450 J g⁻¹). This seminar paper synthesizes three recent studies that collectively advance the design, characterization, and deployment of hydrogel-based cooling systems for photovoltaics. Li et al. (Small, 2026) engineered a spectrally tailored, Janus-structured, LiCl- embedded two-layer membrane capable of simultaneous evaporative and radiative cooling from the front surface of both rigid silicon and flexible polymer solar cells, achieving a maximum efficiency improvement of 21.3% under outdoor conditions. Tadano et al. (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2024) demonstrated that macroporous polyacrylamide hydrogels fabricated by slow-rate freeze casting sustain stable, capillary-fed evaporative cooling even under airflow, reducing target temperatures by up to 72°C relative to the uncooled baseline. Lapsirivatkul et al. (Advanced Materials Technologies, 2025) showed that semi-interpenetrating polymer networks of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and polyacrylamide combine a swelling ratio of 30 with a rapid water release rate and a specific cooling power of 1.86 W g⁻¹, cooling silicon PV cells by 23°C while requiring only 5.1 kg m⁻² of material— approximately 90% less than conventional phase-change materials. Together, these works reveal how hydrogel architecture, porosity, hygroscopic salt loading, optical properties, and thermoresponsive phase transitions can be co-engineered to maximize photovoltaic performance under realistic operating conditions.
Keywords
Hydrogel Cooling; Photovoltaics; Evaporative Cooling; Radiative Cooling; PNIPAM; Polyacrylamide; Freeze Casting; Janus Membrane; Hygroscopic Composites.
References
[1] Li, S., Wang, S., Zhao, J., Wang, Z., Murto, P., Yu, L., Chen, J., & Xu, X. (2026). Spectrally-Tailored Hygroscopic Hydrogels with Janus Interfaces for Hybrid Passive Cooling of Solar Cells. Small, 22, 2505647. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202505647
[2] Tadano, S., Cho, H., Yamazaki, K., & Asada, T. (2024). Evaporative cooling promotion using macroporous hydrogels with stable water transport and evaporation path. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 141(41), e56068. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.56068
[3] Lapsirivatkul, T., Boon-in, S., Crespy, D., & Pattanasattayavong, P. (2025). A Lightweight Hydrogel System for Passive Cooling of Solar Cells. Advanced Materials Technologies, 10, 2401285. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202401285
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How to cite this paper
@article{1716793,
author = {Vishal Reger, Dr. Rohit Misra, Dr. Vikas Bansal, Dr. Doraj Kamal Jamuwa},
title = {Hydrogel-Based Passive Cooling for Photovoltaic Systems: Mechanisms, Materials Design, and Performance Benchmarking},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {10},
pages = {2635-2642},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1716793.pdf},
abstract = {The power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells deteriorates markedly as operating temperatures rise above ambient, with silicon-based modules losing roughly 0.45% of efficiency per degree Celsius of excess heat. Conventional active cooling—water spraying, forced-air circulation— restores performance but consumes electricity and complicates installation. Passive evaporative cooling by hydrogels presents a zero-energy alternative that exploits the large latent heat of water vaporization (approximately 2450 J g⁻¹). This seminar paper synthesizes three recent studies that collectively advance the design, characterization, and deployment of hydrogel-based cooling systems for photovoltaics. Li et al. (Small, 2026) engineered a spectrally tailored, Janus-structured, LiCl- embedded two-layer membrane capable of simultaneous evaporative and radiative cooling from the front surface of both rigid silicon and flexible polymer solar cells, achieving a maximum efficiency improvement of 21.3% under outdoor conditions. Tadano et al. (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2024) demonstrated that macroporous polyacrylamide hydrogels fabricated by slow-rate freeze casting sustain stable, capillary-fed evaporative cooling even under airflow, reducing target temperatures by up to 72°C relative to the uncooled baseline. Lapsirivatkul et al. (Advanced Materials Technologies, 2025) showed that semi-interpenetrating polymer networks of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and polyacrylamide combine a swelling ratio of 30 with a rapid water release rate and a specific cooling power of 1.86 W g⁻¹, cooling silicon PV cells by 23°C while requiring only 5.1 kg m⁻² of material— approximately 90% less than conventional phase-change materials. Together, these works reveal how hydrogel architecture, porosity, hygroscopic salt loading, optical properties, and thermoresponsive phase transitions can be co-engineered to maximize photovoltaic performance under realistic operating conditions.},
keywords = {Hydrogel Cooling; Photovoltaics; Evaporative Cooling; Radiative Cooling; PNIPAM; Polyacrylamide; Freeze Casting; Janus Membrane; Hygroscopic Composites.},
month = {April},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I10-1716793}
}