Quenching Photo‐Induced Free Radicals Endows Superomniphobic Atmospheric Water Harvesting Hydrogels With UV Resistance for Durable Bifacial Photovoltaic Cooling

ABSTRACT

Bifacial photovoltaic (PV) modules constitute 75% of global PV manufacturing output and are playing an increasingly vital role in the clean energy transition. However, their operational efficiency is severely compromised by heat accumulation and dust soiling. Moreover, the rear‐side optical transparency required for bifacial light harvesting renders conventional thermal management techniques infeasible. This work reports a zero‐energy‐demand and liquid water‐free cooling strategy for bifacial PV panels: Functionalized fullerene C ₆₀ is homogeneously incorporated into the atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) hydrogel and terminates light‐induced radical chain reactions, enhancing the hydrogel's UV stability by over 385%. Meanwhile, the modified hydrogel surface imparts superomniphobicity with oil and water contact angles exceeding 160°, resists dust adhesion, and maintains 92.5–96.0% transmittance in the PV response spectrum. The hydrogel cooling layer has a calculated unit cost as low as $9.0 m ⁻² and delivers a daytime cooling power of 550–650 W m ⁻² when the PV panels are in operation, reducing the panel temperature by up to 14.3°C and boosting both the maximum power output and conversion efficiency by 9.03%. This strategy holds a global annual carbon mitigation potential of 537.56 million metric tons of CO ₂ , offering a sustainable route for photovoltaic thermal management.