A novel photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid system with an anisotropic shape-stale phase change composites

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation technology is currently one of the most effective ways in solar energy utilization, while current PV panels are facing a serious issue of electrical efficiency reduction and potential structural damage caused by the accumulated heat during operation. To solve this issue, we proposed a novel hybrid system containing PV cell, thermoelectric generation (TEG) module, and phase change composite (PCC), which can achieve a power enhancement of 29.8 % compared with individual PV cell. The fabricated chitosan-based PCC has a high anisotropy degree of 4.10 and melting enthalpy of 133.2 kJ·kg⁻¹, which promote the effective heat transport and storage between PV cell and TEG module, and the excellent mechanical strength and thermal stability ensures its long-term endurance. Owing to excellent thermal properties of the PCC, not only the power of PV cell is increased by 55.9 mW, but the TEG module also continuously outputs 4.1 mW of power. Besides, the hybrid system can produce 5.185 kW·h·m⁻² electricity per day in the actual environment. Looking ahead, the integration of advanced materials and hybrid systems like the PV + PCC + TEG approach holds great promise for further enhancing solar energy efficiency and sustainability in real-world applications.