Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39118644›Full record

ArticleACS sustainable chemistry & engineering2024

Ecodesign of Kesterite Nanoparticles for Thin Film Photovoltaics at Laboratory Scale.

Michael D K Jones, Bethany L Willis, Stephen Campbell, Giray Kartopu, Pietro Maiello, Prabeesh Punathil, Wai Ming Cheung, Elliot Woolley, Lewis C R Jones, Ochai Oklobia and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Michael D K JonesDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4229-9851
Bethany L WillisDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Stephen CampbellDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4340-4086
Giray KartopuDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Pietro MaielloDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Prabeesh PunathilDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Wai Ming CheungDepartment of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Elliot WoolleyWolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, U.K.
Lewis C R JonesWolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, U.K.
Ochai OklobiaCentre for Solar Energy Research (CSER), in the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Swansea, SA1 8EN, U.K.
Adam HollandHORIBA UK Limited, Kyoto Close, Moulton Park, Northampton, NN3 6FL, U.K.
Vincent BarriozDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.
Guillaume ZoppiDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3622-6899
Neil S BeattieDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0098-4420
Yongtao QuDepartment of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, U.K.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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.

Identifiers

PMID39118644
PMCPMC11304380

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.