End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries
One cannot claim solar panels to be recyclable, in a circular economy sense, until scientists find a way to harvest and repurpose their most valuable components, and silicon is one of them. The photovoltaic (PV) industry uses high‐quality silicon wafers for the fabrication of solar cells. PV recycle...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202100081 |
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| author | Md Mokhlesur Rahman Srikanth Mateti Irin Sultana Chunping Hou Alexey Falin Pavel Cizek Alexey M. Glushenkov Ying Chen |
| author_facet | Md Mokhlesur Rahman Srikanth Mateti Irin Sultana Chunping Hou Alexey Falin Pavel Cizek Alexey M. Glushenkov Ying Chen |
| author_sort | Md Mokhlesur Rahman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One cannot claim solar panels to be recyclable, in a circular economy sense, until scientists find a way to harvest and repurpose their most valuable components, and silicon is one of them. The photovoltaic (PV) industry uses high‐quality silicon wafers for the fabrication of solar cells. PV recycled silicon, however, is not suitable for any application without further purification, as it contains various impurities. Herein, an advanced repurpose process of chemical etching combined ball milling is developed and optimized to produce high‐quality nanosilicon recovered from end‐of‐life PV panels and subsequent nanosilicon/graphite hybrid formation for the application in lithium‐ion batteries. The crucial feature of the hybrid's structure is that the obtained PV nanosilicon with various shapes and sizes is dispersed homogeneously and wrapped by graphitic matrix under ball milling, creating a superior electrode architecture. The PV nanosilicon/graphite anode consisting of 5 wt% nanosilicon exhibits promising electrochemical performance with a charge capacity of 426 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles, a capacity retention of 70%, a rate capability of 215 mAh g−1 at 5 C, and an average coulombic efficiency of ≈99.4%. By converting PV recycled silicon to exceptionally high‐value nanosilicon, the value of the recycled material is maximized. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T19:43:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa80efe2df6142c7aee783da7498e4a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2699-9412 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T19:43:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa80efe2df6142c7aee783da7498e4a42022-12-21T17:33:35ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Energy & Sustainability Research2699-94122021-11-01211n/an/a10.1002/aesr.202100081End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic IndustriesMd Mokhlesur Rahman0Srikanth Mateti1Irin Sultana2Chunping Hou3Alexey Falin4Pavel Cizek5Alexey M. Glushenkov6Ying Chen7Institute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds VIC 3216 AustraliaInstitute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds VIC 3216 AustraliaInstitute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds VIC 3216 AustraliaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering North Minzu University Yinchuan 750021 ChinaInstitute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds VIC 3216 AustraliaInstitute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds VIC 3216 AustraliaResearch School of Chemistry The Australian National University Canberra ACT 2601 AustraliaInstitute for Frontier Materials Deakin University Waurn Ponds VIC 3216 AustraliaOne cannot claim solar panels to be recyclable, in a circular economy sense, until scientists find a way to harvest and repurpose their most valuable components, and silicon is one of them. The photovoltaic (PV) industry uses high‐quality silicon wafers for the fabrication of solar cells. PV recycled silicon, however, is not suitable for any application without further purification, as it contains various impurities. Herein, an advanced repurpose process of chemical etching combined ball milling is developed and optimized to produce high‐quality nanosilicon recovered from end‐of‐life PV panels and subsequent nanosilicon/graphite hybrid formation for the application in lithium‐ion batteries. The crucial feature of the hybrid's structure is that the obtained PV nanosilicon with various shapes and sizes is dispersed homogeneously and wrapped by graphitic matrix under ball milling, creating a superior electrode architecture. The PV nanosilicon/graphite anode consisting of 5 wt% nanosilicon exhibits promising electrochemical performance with a charge capacity of 426 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles, a capacity retention of 70%, a rate capability of 215 mAh g−1 at 5 C, and an average coulombic efficiency of ≈99.4%. By converting PV recycled silicon to exceptionally high‐value nanosilicon, the value of the recycled material is maximized.https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202100081ball millingcircular materialselectronic industriesnanosiliconrecycling photovoltaic panels |
| spellingShingle | Md Mokhlesur Rahman Srikanth Mateti Irin Sultana Chunping Hou Alexey Falin Pavel Cizek Alexey M. Glushenkov Ying Chen End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research ball milling circular materials electronic industries nanosilicon recycling photovoltaic panels |
| title | End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries |
| title_full | End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries |
| title_fullStr | End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries |
| title_full_unstemmed | End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries |
| title_short | End‐of‐Life Photovoltaic Recycled Silicon: A Sustainable Circular Materials Source for Electronic Industries |
| title_sort | end of life photovoltaic recycled silicon a sustainable circular materials source for electronic industries |
| topic | ball milling circular materials electronic industries nanosilicon recycling photovoltaic panels |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202100081 |
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