Efficient recycling of metals from solar cells using catalytic etchants

Tailoring lixiviant properties to optimise selectivity in E-waste recycling

“…This could be enhanced via use of ultrasonic stimulation to aid in crack propagation, as seen for the processing of photovoltaic cells. 5…”

“…One of these methods is via the electrochemical oxidation of metals using a redox catalyst that can be regenerated in situ, such as Cl − /Cl 2 , O 2 /H 2 O 2 , Cu 2+ , Fe 3+ , or iodine complexes. [4][5][6] Iodine is a powerful, yet moderately benign, oxidising agent that has been used for metal and mineral oxidation, in both aqueous [7][8][9] and IL/DES environments, [10][11][12][13] oen with a focus on the precious metal (high value) components of the system. A key property of ILs and DESs is that oxide/ hydroxide chemistry can be avoided, as the anionic components of the solvent will dominate the chemistry.…”

Extraterrestrial mining – A novel method for extracting minerals and metals from asteroids

“…The catalytic oxidation of metals has already been demonstrated for several solids, such as superalloys and minerals 52,53 , as well as in the recycling of spent electronic devices 41,54 . The advantage of electrocatalysis is that no direct contact is required between the anode and the material to be oxidised, and the chemical oxidising agent can be re-generated in situ by an electrochemical reaction (if it has a reversible electrochemical behaviour) 55 .…”

“…Iron(III) chloride (FeCl 3 ) and copper(II) chloride (CuCl 2 ) have also been reported as redox catalysts in different ionic uids and brines, for the dissolution of metals from solar photovoltaic cells and printed circuit boards. Both of them tend to have high solubility and fast electron transfer 41,54 .…”

Targeted recovery of metals from thermoelectric generators (TEGs) using chloride brines and ultrasound

“…This approach has been applied successfully to the selective leaching of metals from minerals, dissolution of metal oxides from end-of-life batteries, leaching of silver and aluminium from solar cells and copper from circuit boards, among others. [21][22][23][24] In addition to DESs, chloride brines have previously been used as solvents for the leaching of metals from minerals, [25][26][27][28] and the leaching of silver and aluminium from solar panels, 24 using a number of different oxidising agents, including Cu II and Fe III .…”