Jones Michael D K, Willis Bethany L, Campbell Stephen, Kartopu Giray, Maiello Pietro, Punathil Prabeesh, Cheung Wai Ming, Woolley Elliot, Jones Lewis C R, Oklobia Ochai, Holland Adam, Barrioz Vincent, Zoppi Guillaume, Beattie Neil S, Qu Yongtao
Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
ACS Sustain Chem Eng. 2024 Jul 26;12(31):11613-11627. doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c02841. eCollection 2024 Aug 5.
This manuscript investigates the efficient synthesis of copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) nanoparticles for CZTS thin film solar cell applications with a primary focus on environmental sustainability. Underpinning the investigation is an initial life-cycle assessment (LCA) analysis. This LCA analysis is conducted to evaluate the environmental impact of different synthesis volumes, providing crucial insights into the sustainability of the synthesis process by considering the flows of material and energy associated with the process. Life-cycle assessment results demonstrate that significant reductions to the environmental impact can be made by increasing the synthesis volume of CZTS nanoparticle ink. Using a 5-fold increase in volume can reduce all 11 investigated environmental impacts by up to 35.6%, six of these impacts demonstrating reductions >10% and the amount of global warming potential is reduced by 21.4%. Motivated by the LCA results, COMSOL simulations are employed to understand the fluid flow patterns in large-scale fabrication. Various sizes and speeds of stirrer bars are investigated in these simulations, and it is determined that a 50 mm stir bar at 200 rpm represents the optimal configuration for the synthesis process in a 500 mL flask. Subsequently, large-batch CZTS nanoparticle inks are synthesized using these parameters and compared to small-batch samples. The light absorbers are characterized using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, confirming favorable properties with close-to-ideal elemental ratios in large-batch synthesis. Finally, solar cell devices fabricated utilizing CZTSSe absorbers from the large volume synthesis process demonstrate comparable performance to those fabricated using small-batch synthesis, with uniform power conversion efficiencies of around 5% across the substrate. This study highlights the potential of large-volume CZTS nanoparticle synthesis for efficient and environmentally friendly CZTS solar cell fabrication, contributing to the advancement of sustainable renewable energy technologies.
本手稿研究了用于铜锌锡硫（CZTS）薄膜太阳能电池应用的CZTS纳米颗粒的高效合成，主要关注环境可持续性。该研究的基础是初步的生命周期评估（LCA）分析。进行此LCA分析是为了评估不同合成量对环境的影响，通过考虑与该过程相关的物质和能量流，为合成过程的可持续性提供关键见解。生命周期评估结果表明，通过增加CZTS纳米颗粒墨水的合成量，可以显著降低环境影响。将体积增加5倍可使所有11种研究的环境影响降低多达35.6%，其中六种影响降低幅度>10%，全球变暖潜势降低21.4%。受LCA结果的推动，采用COMSOL模拟来了解大规模制造中的流体流动模式。在这些模拟中研究了各种尺寸和速度的搅拌棒，确定在500 mL烧瓶中合成过程的最佳配置是200 rpm转速下的50 mm搅拌棒。随后，使用这些参数合成大批量CZTS纳米颗粒墨水，并与小批量样品进行比较。使用拉曼光谱和X射线衍射对光吸收体进行表征，证实大批量合成中具有接近理想元素比例的良好性能。最后，利用大批量合成过程中的CZTSSe吸收体制备的太阳能电池器件表现出与小批量合成制备的器件相当的性能，整个基板的功率转换效率均匀约为5%。本研究突出了大批量合成CZTS纳米颗粒在高效且环保的CZTS太阳能电池制造方面的潜力，有助于推动可持续可再生能源技术的发展。
