The protective triterpene layer of the desert plant Sarcocaulon Patersonii: A bionic model for innovative PV encapsulation?

The transparent, protective encapsulation (wax) layer of the geranium plant Sarcocaulon Patersonii, living in an extreme desert environment, was investigated with respect to its potential as flexible photovoltaic encapsulation material. Surprisingly, the main component of the wax turned out to be triterpenes, the solid state, thermal, optical, photochemical and protective properties of which are unexplored in technology and partially presented here. The protective action of extracted 200 nm thin triterpene layers on CuInS2 solar modules was encouraging although chemical extraction may have changed a more favorable natural morphology. Complications arising from the little known chemistry, when interacting with specific microelectronic components, and further need of research are discussed.