Pub Date : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113628
Yuan Gao , Yi Tan , Wenliang Qi , Lidan Ning , Pengting Li
Optimizing the purification process of metallurgical-grade Si via metallurgical routes supports the advancement of solar-grade silicon manufacturing. Herein, P and B impurities are simultaneously removed during the electron beam melting (EBM) with a few Na2O and graphite lining, abridging the two purification processes into a single melt. The simulation results indicate that graphite lining can intensify the temperature field of Si melt, which is favorable for P removal by evaporation. Significantly, the width and depth of the temperature line for effective oxidation of B is greatly enhanced by the graphite lining, which increases the removal of B. As a result, without introducing additional impurities, the contents of P and B are reduced from 2.02 ppmw and 12.76 ppmw to 0.14 ppmw and 0.94 ppmw, achieving removal efficiencies of 93.07 % and 92.63 %, respectively. This work provides a smart technique for the simultaneous removal of P and B from Si by EBM and streamlining the metallurgical routes to manufacture solar-grade silicon.
{"title":"Simultaneous removal of phosphorus and boron from silicon via Na2O assisted by intensified temperature field in electron beam melting","authors":"Yuan Gao , Yi Tan , Wenliang Qi , Lidan Ning , Pengting Li","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113628","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113628","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Optimizing the purification process of metallurgical-grade Si via metallurgical routes supports the advancement of solar-grade silicon manufacturing. Herein, P and B impurities are simultaneously removed during the electron beam melting (EBM) with a few Na<sub>2</sub>O and graphite lining, abridging the two purification processes into a single melt. The simulation results indicate that graphite lining can intensify the temperature field of Si melt, which is favorable for P removal by evaporation. Significantly, the width and depth of the temperature line for effective oxidation of B is greatly enhanced by the graphite lining, which increases the removal of B. As a result, without introducing additional impurities, the contents of P and B are reduced from 2.02 ppmw and 12.76 ppmw to 0.14 ppmw and 0.94 ppmw, achieving removal efficiencies of 93.07 % and 92.63 %, respectively. This work provides a smart technique for the simultaneous removal of P and B from Si by EBM and streamlining the metallurgical routes to manufacture solar-grade silicon.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 113628"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143799621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113593
S. Pingel , F.M. Maarouf , N. Wengenmeyr , M. Linse , L. Folcarelli , J. Schube , S. Hoffmann , S. Tepner , J. Huyeng , A. Lorenz , F. Clement
In this work, we demonstrate the possibility to reduce silver consumption for highly efficient silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cells by screen printing using low temperature paste based on silver, silver-coated copper or pure copper particles. The achieved grid fingers were characterized towards the line and contact resistance as well as the printed width. The most promising pastes with silver or silver-coated-copper particles allow printing of 35 μm narrow fingers with low line resistance of well below 10 Ω/cm. Simulations show that the achieved grid fingers, lead to very low silver consumption. Comparing cost to efficiency optimization shows that the most cost-effective cell has substantially lower efficiency. This might enable the introduction of alternative low silver or silver-free metallization techniques. To show the currently available options to save silver in screen printed busbarless SHJ cells, samples were produced with specific silver consumption of 7.5 mg/W and even below 5 mg/W if the rear side was realized with a pure copper paste. In another test, silver-based cells with same level of efficiency, improved bifaciality and reduced silver laydown (1/3 compared to reference) around 8 mg/W were successfully introduced into modules.
{"title":"Transition from silver-to copper-based screen printed SHJ solar cells","authors":"S. Pingel , F.M. Maarouf , N. Wengenmeyr , M. Linse , L. Folcarelli , J. Schube , S. Hoffmann , S. Tepner , J. Huyeng , A. Lorenz , F. Clement","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113593","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113593","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, we demonstrate the possibility to reduce silver consumption for highly efficient silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cells by screen printing using low temperature paste based on silver, silver-coated copper or pure copper particles. The achieved grid fingers were characterized towards the line and contact resistance as well as the printed width. The most promising pastes with silver or silver-coated-copper particles allow printing of 35 μm narrow fingers with low line resistance of well below 10 Ω/cm. Simulations show that the achieved grid fingers, lead to very low silver consumption. Comparing cost to efficiency optimization shows that the most cost-effective cell has substantially lower efficiency. This might enable the introduction of alternative low silver or silver-free metallization techniques. To show the currently available options to save silver in screen printed busbarless SHJ cells, samples were produced with specific silver consumption of 7.5 mg/W and even below 5 mg/W if the rear side was realized with a pure copper paste. In another test, silver-based cells with same level of efficiency, improved bifaciality and reduced silver laydown (1/3 compared to reference) around 8 mg/W were successfully introduced into modules.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113593"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143800021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113619
Simone Failla , Elisa Sani , Diletta Sciti
Dark colored Al2O3-B4C composites with 5–50 vol% B4C additions were consolidated by hot pressing. The optical properties were investigated to evaluate new potential applications as solar receivers in concentrating solar power. The thermal emittance was estimated from 400 to 1700 K, as well as the opto-thermal efficiency when these materials are used as solar radiation absorbers in concentrating solar plants, for three exemplifying values of solar concentration ratio C, representative of different solar plants architectures. Efficiency values for the composites was increased by four times with respect to conventional white Al2O3 (for instance, at 800 K and C = 3000 we found 0.88 versus 0.20, at 1300 K 0.83 vs. 0.19) and remarkably, were also higher that the most advanced solar absorber currently in use in solar plants, namely SiC (efficiency 0.84 or 0.81 in the mentioned cases). Complementarily, the effect of B4C on compaction behavior, microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites was also investigated. The addition of 50 vol% B4C significantly increased hardness and toughness compared to pure alumina, which could be of interest for structural applications, among others.
{"title":"Optical characterization of alumina darkened with boron carbide inclusions for solar energy applications","authors":"Simone Failla , Elisa Sani , Diletta Sciti","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113619","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113619","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dark colored Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-B<sub>4</sub>C composites with 5–50 vol% B<sub>4</sub>C additions were consolidated by hot pressing. The optical properties were investigated to evaluate new potential applications as solar receivers in concentrating solar power. The thermal emittance was estimated from 400 to 1700 K, as well as the opto-thermal efficiency when these materials are used as solar radiation absorbers in concentrating solar plants, for three exemplifying values of solar concentration ratio C, representative of different solar plants architectures. Efficiency values for the composites was increased by four times with respect to conventional white Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (for instance, at 800 K and C = 3000 we found 0.88 versus 0.20, at 1300 K 0.83 vs. 0.19) and remarkably, were also higher that the most advanced solar absorber currently in use in solar plants, namely SiC (efficiency 0.84 or 0.81 in the mentioned cases). Complementarily, the effect of B<sub>4</sub>C on compaction behavior, microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites was also investigated. The addition of 50 vol% B<sub>4</sub>C significantly increased hardness and toughness compared to pure alumina, which could be of interest for structural applications, among others.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113619"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143792537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113623
Fuyin Luo, Xiaohu He, Chuanliang Li
Artificially designed tunable metamaterial solar absorbers are an important component of high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, these solar absorbers usually have insufficient absorption bandwidth or absorption efficiency, while the efficiency of solar absorbers in terms of thermal radiation efficiency is low or rarely investigated. This makes it difficult to meet the potential applications of solar absorbers in various aspects. In this paper, we propose a concentric ring array (CRA) metamaterial solar perfect absorber. We use the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) to simulate the structure. The simulation results show that the absorptivity of the plane wave incident vertically at 300–4000 nm is more than 95.8%, and the average absorptivity is 98.93%. This means there is perfect absorption in the bandwidth, which is essential for the complete absorption of solar energy. At the same time, the proposed absorber has excellent process tolerance and material substitutability, which means that the errors in the fabrication process and the lack of materials have little impact on our absorber, allowing the device to be manufactured in large quantities. The integrated absorption of CRA in the Air Mass 1.5 solar spectrum is as high as 98.22%, and it can be up to 99% after adjusting the geometrical parameter, which highlights the advantages of the absorber's process tolerance. In terms of thermal radiation, the proposed structure has a thermal radiation efficiency of more than 99% at 300–2000 K, which improves the low thermal radiation efficiency of previous solar absorbers. The temperature thermal stability study reveals that the CRA can maintain excellent working performance at any temperature. Notably, the perfect absorption is not affected by the polarization and angle of the incident light. The above results make the absorber promising for applications in solar energy collection, infrared imaging, electromagnetic cloaking, and emission.
{"title":"High-efficiency solar metamaterial absorber based on multilayer circular ring arrays","authors":"Fuyin Luo, Xiaohu He, Chuanliang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113623","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113623","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Artificially designed tunable metamaterial solar absorbers are an important component of high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, these solar absorbers usually have insufficient absorption bandwidth or absorption efficiency, while the efficiency of solar absorbers in terms of thermal radiation efficiency is low or rarely investigated. This makes it difficult to meet the potential applications of solar absorbers in various aspects. In this paper, we propose a concentric ring array (CRA) metamaterial solar perfect absorber. We use the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) to simulate the structure. The simulation results show that the absorptivity of the plane wave incident vertically at 300–4000 nm is more than 95.8%, and the average absorptivity is 98.93%. This means there is perfect absorption in the bandwidth, which is essential for the complete absorption of solar energy. At the same time, the proposed absorber has excellent process tolerance and material substitutability, which means that the errors in the fabrication process and the lack of materials have little impact on our absorber, allowing the device to be manufactured in large quantities. The integrated absorption of CRA in the Air Mass 1.5 solar spectrum is as high as 98.22%, and it can be up to 99% after adjusting the geometrical parameter, which highlights the advantages of the absorber's process tolerance. In terms of thermal radiation, the proposed structure has a thermal radiation efficiency of more than 99% at 300–2000 K, which improves the low thermal radiation efficiency of previous solar absorbers. The temperature thermal stability study reveals that the CRA can maintain excellent working performance at any temperature. Notably, the perfect absorption is not affected by the polarization and angle of the incident light. The above results make the absorber promising for applications in solar energy collection, infrared imaging, electromagnetic cloaking, and emission.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113623"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143792536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113622
Fuhaid Alshammari , Nasser Alanazi , Mamdouh Alshammari , Ammar H. Elsheikh , Fadl A. Essa
Freshwater scarcity is a growing global challenge, particularly in regions with abundant solar energy but limited access to clean water. Conventional solar stills offer a sustainable solution for freshwater production but suffer from low productivity and efficiency, limiting their practical application. This study addresses these limitations by introducing a novel tubular solar still design with operational enhancements aimed at significantly improving freshwater productivity and thermal efficiency. Key innovations include a centrally suspended rectangular absorber plate with an adjustable rotational mechanism, microcontroller-regulated rotational velocity control, and an ultrasonic atomizer at the still's apex to intermittently disperse water droplets for enhanced evaporation. Hygroscopic burlap fabrics (cotton and jute) were layered on the absorber to amplify surface evaporation. Comprehensive experiments optimized rotational speeds (0–2 rpm) and atomizer duty cycles (fixed 1-min activation with varied deactivation intervals: 2–10 min) to maximize freshwater yield through parametric refinement of rotational dynamics and misting cycles. Key parameters contributing to the system's performance include thermal efficiency, freshwater yield, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, and durability. Experimental results demonstrated that the modified tubular solar distiller (MTSD) with a rotational suspended absorber increased freshwater yield by 18 % compared to the reference system (RTSD). Jute cloth outperformed cotton, achieving a 90 % productivity improvement versus 82 % for cotton. Optimal performance occurred under conditions combining jute cloth, 1 rpm rotation, and an atomizer duty cycle of 1 min ON/8 min OFF, yielding a 97 % productivity increase (6795 mL/m2 for MTSD versus 3450 mL/m2 for RTSD) and 49 % thermal efficiency, significantly surpassing the RTSD baseline. Life-cycle cost analysis demonstrated a 52 % reduction in unit production costs for the MTSD configuration with jute-based rotational operation (1 rpm), achieving 0.013/L, compared to 0.025/L for RTSD. These results underscore the efficacy of the design enhancements in maximizing solar still productivity, offering a promising solution to address freshwater scarcity in resource-limited settings.
{"title":"Enhancing tubular solar still productivity: A novel rotational absorber, ultrasonic atomizer, and hygroscopic fabric integration","authors":"Fuhaid Alshammari , Nasser Alanazi , Mamdouh Alshammari , Ammar H. Elsheikh , Fadl A. Essa","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113622","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113622","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Freshwater scarcity is a growing global challenge, particularly in regions with abundant solar energy but limited access to clean water. Conventional solar stills offer a sustainable solution for freshwater production but suffer from low productivity and efficiency, limiting their practical application. This study addresses these limitations by introducing a novel tubular solar still design with operational enhancements aimed at significantly improving freshwater productivity and thermal efficiency. Key innovations include a centrally suspended rectangular absorber plate with an adjustable rotational mechanism, microcontroller-regulated rotational velocity control, and an ultrasonic atomizer at the still's apex to intermittently disperse water droplets for enhanced evaporation. Hygroscopic burlap fabrics (cotton and jute) were layered on the absorber to amplify surface evaporation. Comprehensive experiments optimized rotational speeds (0–2 rpm) and atomizer duty cycles (fixed 1-min activation with varied deactivation intervals: 2–10 min) to maximize freshwater yield through parametric refinement of rotational dynamics and misting cycles. Key parameters contributing to the system's performance include thermal efficiency, freshwater yield, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, and durability. Experimental results demonstrated that the modified tubular solar distiller (MTSD) with a rotational suspended absorber increased freshwater yield by 18 % compared to the reference system (RTSD). Jute cloth outperformed cotton, achieving a 90 % productivity improvement versus 82 % for cotton. Optimal performance occurred under conditions combining jute cloth, 1 rpm rotation, and an atomizer duty cycle of 1 min ON/8 min OFF, yielding a 97 % productivity increase (6795 mL/m<sup>2</sup> for MTSD versus 3450 mL/m<sup>2</sup> for RTSD) and 49 % thermal efficiency, significantly surpassing the RTSD baseline. Life-cycle cost analysis demonstrated a 52 % reduction in unit production costs for the MTSD configuration with jute-based rotational operation (1 rpm), achieving 0.013/L, compared to 0.025/L for RTSD. These results underscore the efficacy of the design enhancements in maximizing solar still productivity, offering a promising solution to address freshwater scarcity in resource-limited settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113622"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113625
Amr Osama , Giuseppe Marco Tina , Antonio Gagliano , Gabino Jimenez-Castillo , Francisco José Munoz-Rodríguez
The rapid growth of photovoltaic (PV) energy has the potential to transform the global energy landscape. However, the intermittent nature of solar power presents significant challenges to grid integration, such as overgeneration and curtailment. Consequently, PV systems may operate at points other than the maximum power point (MPP). Monitoring the thermal behavior of photovoltaic systems is critical due to its impact on productivity and system health. Most studies focus on meteorological variables, often overlooking the influence of electrical operating states on thermal performance. Thus the objective is to evaluate the accuracy of existing thermal models from the literature and widely used specialized software tools—alongside their commonly cited coefficients against different electrical operating status (EOS). This study investigates the thermal behavior of PV modules under different EOS: short-circuited (PVset-1), open-circuited (PVset-2), and operating at MPP (PVset-3). The experiment was conducted over four months at Jaén University campus in Spain. Results showed the short-circuited module's temperature was 6.90 °C higher, and the open-circuited module's temperature was 3.67 °C higher than the MPP module. Thermographic investigations revealed multiple hotspots in the short-circuited set. These hotspots can severely impact the module's long-term reliability and efficiency. The analysis of thermal models considering these operating states indicated an overestimation of the MPP module's temperature. However, the Keddouda model demonstrated high accuracy potential, with an average deviation of less than 3.4 %, particularly at high irradiance levels. These findings highlight the necessity of considering EOS in thermal models to enhance the accuracy and reliability of PV system performance assessments.
{"title":"Effect of electrical operating conditions on thermal behavior of PV modules: Numerical and experimental analysis","authors":"Amr Osama , Giuseppe Marco Tina , Antonio Gagliano , Gabino Jimenez-Castillo , Francisco José Munoz-Rodríguez","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113625","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113625","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid growth of photovoltaic (PV) energy has the potential to transform the global energy landscape. However, the intermittent nature of solar power presents significant challenges to grid integration, such as overgeneration and curtailment. Consequently, PV systems may operate at points other than the maximum power point (MPP). Monitoring the thermal behavior of photovoltaic systems is critical due to its impact on productivity and system health. Most studies focus on meteorological variables, often overlooking the influence of electrical operating states on thermal performance. Thus the objective is to evaluate the accuracy of existing thermal models from the literature and widely used specialized software tools—alongside their commonly cited coefficients against different electrical operating status (EOS). This study investigates the thermal behavior of PV modules under different EOS: short-circuited (PVset-1), open-circuited (PVset-2), and operating at MPP (PVset-3). The experiment was conducted over four months at Jaén University campus in Spain. Results showed the short-circuited module's temperature was 6.90 °C higher, and the open-circuited module's temperature was 3.67 °C higher than the MPP module. Thermographic investigations revealed multiple hotspots in the short-circuited set. These hotspots can severely impact the module's long-term reliability and efficiency. The analysis of thermal models considering these operating states indicated an overestimation of the MPP module's temperature. However, the Keddouda model demonstrated high accuracy potential, with an average deviation of less than 3.4 %, particularly at high irradiance levels. These findings highlight the necessity of considering EOS in thermal models to enhance the accuracy and reliability of PV system performance assessments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113625"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The large scale deployment of Si PV panels presents significant end-of-life challenges due to their limited lifespan. Effective recycling strategies are crucial to reduce the environmental impact and recovering valuable metals. This study presents a simple yet highly efficient two-stage chemical process to preserve Si purity by sequential extraction of Al and Ag from discarded Si solar cells. In the first stage, Al was dissolved with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and then precipitated by adjusting the pH with sulfuric acid (H2SO4). In the second stage, the Ag was extracted with nitric acid (HNO3), precipitated with sodium chloride (NaCl), and then reduced to metallic Ag with a glucose. Under optimized conditions, the recovery efficiency for Al and Ag was over 99 %, while the resulting Si substrate reached a purity of >99.9 %. ICP-OES, XRF, XRD, and SEM-EDS confirmed the recovered materials' high selectivity and negligible impurities, highlighting their potential for high-value industrial applications.
{"title":"Preserving silicon (Si) purity through efficient aluminum (Al) and silver (Ag) extraction and recovery from solar cell waste","authors":"Mustapha Wahman , Agnieszka Surowiak , Kerstin Forsberg , Burçak Ebin , Katarzyna Berent , Patryk Szymczak","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113601","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113601","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The large scale deployment of Si PV panels presents significant end-of-life challenges due to their limited lifespan. Effective recycling strategies are crucial to reduce the environmental impact and recovering valuable metals. This study presents a simple yet highly efficient two-stage chemical process to preserve Si purity by sequential extraction of Al and Ag from discarded Si solar cells. In the first stage, Al was dissolved with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and then precipitated by adjusting the pH with sulfuric acid (H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>). In the second stage, the Ag was extracted with nitric acid (HNO<sub>3</sub>), precipitated with sodium chloride (NaCl), and then reduced to metallic Ag with a glucose. Under optimized conditions, the recovery efficiency for Al and Ag was over 99 %, while the resulting Si substrate reached a purity of >99.9 %. ICP-OES, XRF, XRD, and SEM-EDS confirmed the recovered materials' high selectivity and negligible impurities, highlighting their potential for high-value industrial applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113601"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-06DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113617
Iram Sifat , Kallol Biswas , John Ayers , Sung-Yeul Park , Alexander G. Agrios
The worldwide adoption and efficiency of solar energy production rely strongly on the longevity and performance of photovoltaic (PV) panels. There is a need to detect and quantify degradation of PV panels over limited timescales, both for research and development of PV technologies and for early detection of degradation in operating and maintaining PV farms. This paper reports a systematic study of thermal and mechanical stress applied to 10W PV panels, studied by a suite of three measurements: current–voltage (I–V), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and electroluminescence (EL) imaging. While 300 thermal heating and cooling cycles produced minimal change to the I–V curve, significant changes were detected by the other measurements in the series resistance, shunt resistance, and electroluminescent area of the panel. All three measurements saw changes due to mechanical impacts. This study shows how insights can be gained from assessing the changes observed in different measurements. In addition, this work highlights the benefits of using such multimodal analysis to obtain early signs of panel degradation, well before they become apparent in the panel's power output, for categorizing PV panels and in decision-making for reliability enhancement of PV farms.
{"title":"A multimodal analysis of degradation processes in 10W PV panels under thermal and mechanical stress","authors":"Iram Sifat , Kallol Biswas , John Ayers , Sung-Yeul Park , Alexander G. Agrios","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113617","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113617","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The worldwide adoption and efficiency of solar energy production rely strongly on the longevity and performance of photovoltaic (PV) panels. There is a need to detect and quantify degradation of PV panels over limited timescales, both for research and development of PV technologies and for early detection of degradation in operating and maintaining PV farms. This paper reports a systematic study of thermal and mechanical stress applied to 10W PV panels, studied by a suite of three measurements: current–voltage (I–V), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and electroluminescence (EL) imaging. While 300 thermal heating and cooling cycles produced minimal change to the I–V curve, significant changes were detected by the other measurements in the series resistance, shunt resistance, and electroluminescent area of the panel. All three measurements saw changes due to mechanical impacts. This study shows how insights can be gained from assessing the changes observed in different measurements. In addition, this work highlights the benefits of using such multimodal analysis to obtain early signs of panel degradation, well before they become apparent in the panel's power output, for categorizing PV panels and in decision-making for reliability enhancement of PV farms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The propensity for leaks in high-temperature molten alloys greatly restricts their extensive use in storing high-temperature thermal energy. In tackling this matter, the research concentrates on Al-Si/AlN composite phase change materials (PCMs), incorporating the modifier Sb to significantly improve their heat conduction and thermal steadiness. The results reveal that incorporating Sb alters the Si phase from a bulk form to an elongated one, simultaneously triggering the creation of an Al-Si@Al2O3 core-shell configuration. This structural optimization reduces free electron scattering and extends the mean free path of electrons, thereby improving the thermal conductivity of the material. It was established that the ideal fraction of Sb mass is 0.6 %, where the thermal conductivity of the Sb-altered Al-Si/AlN composite PCMs attains 49.5 W/(m·K), marking a 15.2 % enhancement over the original Al-Si/AlN composite PCMs, with a latent heat of 351.5 kJ/kg. Additionally, the creation of the Al2O3 shell led to the altered materials showing remarkable thermal stability across 200 high-temperature thermal cycles, resulting in less than a 4 % decrease in latent heat post-cycle and no leakage detected. The study offers not just an innovative approach for creating advanced Al-Si/AlN composite PCMs but also broadens their use in storing thermal energy at high temperatures.
{"title":"Sb doped Al-Si/AlN composite phase change material with improved thermal conductivity and reliability","authors":"Shuhui Chen , Jinjie Mo , Ziye Ling , Zhengguo Zhang , Xiaoming Fang","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113624","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113624","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The propensity for leaks in high-temperature molten alloys greatly restricts their extensive use in storing high-temperature thermal energy. In tackling this matter, the research concentrates on Al-Si/AlN composite phase change materials (PCMs), incorporating the modifier Sb to significantly improve their heat conduction and thermal steadiness. The results reveal that incorporating Sb alters the Si phase from a bulk form to an elongated one, simultaneously triggering the creation of an Al-Si@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> core-shell configuration. This structural optimization reduces free electron scattering and extends the mean free path of electrons, thereby improving the thermal conductivity of the material. It was established that the ideal fraction of Sb mass is 0.6 %, where the thermal conductivity of the Sb-altered Al-Si/AlN composite PCMs attains 49.5 W/(m·K), marking a 15.2 % enhancement over the original Al-Si/AlN composite PCMs, with a latent heat of 351.5 kJ/kg. Additionally, the creation of the Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> shell led to the altered materials showing remarkable thermal stability across 200 high-temperature thermal cycles, resulting in less than a 4 % decrease in latent heat post-cycle and no leakage detected. The study offers not just an innovative approach for creating advanced Al-Si/AlN composite PCMs but also broadens their use in storing thermal energy at high temperatures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113624"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143783095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-04DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113621
Umar Farooq , Ali Alshamrani , M.M. Alam
This study investigates the thermal enhancement in aircraft through solar energy capture using parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC) with hybrid nanofluids. We examine titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticles suspended in propylene glycol (PG) as the base fluid. can enhance the absorption of solar radiation, helps stabilize the suspension, while PG has low freezing point making it suitable for use in varying environmental conditions. A mathematical has been transformed into higher-order nonlinear differential equations using similarity transformations. These equations are solved numerically with the bvp4c MATLAB algorithm. The hybrid nanofluid exhibits improved thermal conductivity compared to the nanofluid. The study highlights that has advantages due to its photocatalytic properties when exposed to sunlight. The incorporation of the Oldroyd-B model further improves thermal management in aviation cooling systems and energy systems. The novelty lies in combining these nanoparticles with PG for solar-powered aircraft, optimizing aviation thermal efficiency. The results show that with the increase of the radiative parameter value, the relative percentage increases from 93.88 % to 98.41 %, indicating that the radiative heat transfer improves the thermal performance of the hybrid nanofluid, and the most influential factors in improving the heat transfer efficiency are magnetic strength and the Deborah II number, increasing the Nusselt number by 38.96 %–67.89 % and 42.06 %–71.35 %, respectively.
{"title":"Aircraft thermal enhancement via TiO2−SiO2/ PG nanofluids: Solar and magnetic-deborah effects","authors":"Umar Farooq , Ali Alshamrani , M.M. Alam","doi":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113621","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113621","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the thermal enhancement in aircraft through solar energy capture using parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC) with hybrid nanofluids. We examine titanium dioxide <span><math><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>i</mi><msub><mi>O</mi><mn>2</mn></msub></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow></math></span> and silicon dioxide <span><math><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mi>S</mi><mi>i</mi><msub><mi>O</mi><mn>2</mn></msub></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow></math></span> nanoparticles suspended in propylene glycol (PG) as the base fluid. <span><math><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>i</mi><msub><mi>O</mi><mn>2</mn></msub></mrow></math></span> can enhance the absorption of solar radiation, <span><math><mrow><mi>S</mi><mi>i</mi><msub><mi>O</mi><mn>2</mn></msub></mrow></math></span> helps stabilize the suspension, while PG has low freezing point making it suitable for use in varying environmental conditions. A mathematical has been transformed into higher-order nonlinear differential equations using similarity transformations. These equations are solved numerically with the bvp4c MATLAB algorithm. The hybrid nanofluid exhibits improved thermal conductivity compared to the nanofluid. The study highlights that <span><math><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>i</mi><msub><mi>O</mi><mn>2</mn></msub></mrow></math></span> has advantages due to its photocatalytic properties when exposed to sunlight. The incorporation of the Oldroyd-B model further improves thermal management in aviation cooling systems and energy systems. The novelty lies in combining these nanoparticles with PG for solar-powered aircraft, optimizing aviation thermal efficiency. The results show that with the increase of the radiative parameter value, the relative percentage increases from 93.88 % to 98.41 %, indicating that the radiative heat transfer improves the thermal performance of the hybrid nanofluid, and the most influential factors in improving the heat transfer efficiency are magnetic strength and the Deborah II number, increasing the Nusselt number by 38.96 %–67.89 % and 42.06 %–71.35 %, respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":429,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 113621"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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