太阳能电池中的热液耦合用于完全被动按需水与电联产

Abstract The practical implementation of photovoltaic (PV) cells remains constrained by efficiency attenuation due to the elevated operating temperatures. Traditional PV cooling systems demonstrate a great challenge in simultaneously achieving effective waste heat recovery and water regeneration. This work proposes a thermohydraulically coupled integration of solar cells with an evaporative cooling method, enabling fully passive, on-demand co-generation of water and electricity. In this system, water is delivered to the back of the solar cell by capillary action, where it absorbs waste heat and evaporates to achieve cooling. The generated vapor condenses into drops on the surface of a superhydrophobic condenser and slides down into a collection bottle. By adjusting the water supply height, this system is capable of switching between the two target output modes, i.e. , power priority and water priority. At 1.0 sun illumination, the power-priority mode reduces the solar cell surface temperature by 25.3 °C and increases its relative PV conversion efficiency by 12.0 %. The water-priority mode achieves a water productivity of 0.51 kg m −2 h −1 . This design has significant implications for advancing the diversified utilization of renewable energy and promoting sustainable development.