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Flow Synthesis of Silver Nanowires for Semitransparent Solar Cell Electrodes: A Life Cycle Perspective
Author(s) -
Espinosa Nieves,
Søndergaard Roar R.,
Jørgensen Mikkel,
Krebs Frederik C.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201501437
Subject(s) - nanowire , materials science , electrode , perspective (graphical) , nanotechnology , flow (mathematics) , solar cell , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , chemistry , mechanics , physics , engineering , computer science , artificial intelligence
Silver nanowires (AgNWs) were prepared on a 5 g scale using either the well‐known batch synthesis following the polyol method or a new flow synthesis method. The AgNWs were employed as semitransparent electrode materials in organic photovoltaics and compared to traditional printed silver electrodes based on micron sized silver flakes using life cycle analysis and environmental impact analysis methods. The life cycle analysis of AgNWs confirms that they provide an avenue to low‐impact semitransparent electrodes. We find that the benefit of AgNWs in terms of embodied energy is less pronounced than generally assumed but that the toxicological and environmental benefits are significant.