Result description
A process at laboratory scale to produce reliable and stable inks for the deposition of kesterite based absorbers using spray coating techniques is developed. The process can be used for any industry working in spray techniques for the depositon of chalcogenides, with very high flexibility in terms of composition and deposition parameters.
Inks formulations for the synthesis of chalcogenide materials, with high flexibility to tune the composition and easily adaptable to different spray deposition techniques has been developed. The inks are very stable and non-toxic and use cost-efficient solvents ensuring full sustainabilty.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- Grants and Subsidies
- Collaboration
We target industries interested in thin film chalcogenide deposition in order to license the methodology to prepare the inks and deposit the high quality layers. We need to get in contact with interested companies in fields other than photovoltaic.
- Public or private funding institutions
- Research and Technology Organisations
- Academia/ Universities
R&D, Technology and Innovation aspects
The development is currently at TRL5. We need other actors to help us to expand our market potential.
The ink synthesis is considered scalable by a shift to large volume reactors and/or a change to a flow reactor.
The ink spraying is considered scalable by a shift to large area spraying substrates and/or by a change to a spray in a roll-to-roll process.
The raw materials for the ink synthesis is based in broadly available commercial metal chloride salts and three widely available solvents (water, ethanol and acetonitrile).
The batch synthesis used non-expensive and widely available apparatus (glove box, centrifuge, glass containers, sonicators) and the spray is based on commercial spraying nozzles.
Protocols have been established to replicate the procedures and several operators have reproduced the results over several years.
The products can be caracterized by several well known techniques of elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction and microscopy.
A partner on the Starcell project developed and optimized recycling procedure for the recovery of Cu, Zn, Sn and Se from the kesterite cells produced by these inks
Result submitted to Horizon Results Platform by IMRA EUROPE SAS
