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<p>This study aims to optimize the synthesis of silver-based pastes with favorable rheological properties for screen-printing applications in solar cell manufacturing. Silver (Ag) and copper-doped silver (Cu–Ag) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of pure cubic-phase silver, with no detectable impurity phases. Rietveld refinement was employed to determine lattice parameters, crystallite size, lattice strain, and dislocation density. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed rough, spherical to irregularly shaped particles, some exhibiting faceted surfaces. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the metallic nature of silver through characteristic Ag 3d₅/₂ and 3d₃/₂ peaks, while copper incorporation was validated by the Cu 2p doublet. In parallel, the XRD patterns of synthesized glass frits (GF-Ti and GF-Zr) exhibited peaks characteristic of amorphous structures, confirming successful formation. SEM analysis showed that GF-Ti had a highly irregular and porous morphology, whereas GF-Zr presented a denser and more compact structure. The porous GF-Ti glass frit may absorb more binder and hence increase the viscosity of the produced paste. These findings provide a foundation for the development of advanced conductive pastes tailored for photovoltaic applications. Rheological measurements revealed that all formulations exhibit shear-thinning or pseudo-plastic behavior, with viscosity decreasing under shear. The power-law model accurately described the flow behavior, showing that additives, particularly the ionic surfactant (Ti), significantly increased the consistency index compared to the base organic vehicle. Among all the pastes synthesized in this study, the Ag2-Ti formulation exhibited the most favorable rheological performance for metallic contacts printing in solar cells, with a flow index <i>n</i> = 0.5 and a consistency index K = 4000&#xa0;Pa·sⁿ. The line profile obtained by optical microscopy showed thick, dense and well-defined printed contacts for Ag2-Ti paste with the absence of any remarkable edges along the boundaries. The electrical characterizations using the Transmission Line Method (TLM) showed a lower value of specific contact resistivity of 1.53 mΩ. cm<sup>2</sup> for the optimized Ag2-Ti material.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Effect of copper incorporation into silver nanoparticles on the structural, morphological, and rheological properties of lead-free pastes for solar cell applications

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月13日

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  • Hazmoune Abdessalam,
  • Lounis Azeddine,
  • Abdelmounaim Chetoui,
  • Ilyas Belkhettab,
  • Ismail Bencherifa,
  • Ahmed Kellai

摘要

This study aims to optimize the synthesis of silver-based pastes with favorable rheological properties for screen-printing applications in solar cell manufacturing. Silver (Ag) and copper-doped silver (Cu–Ag) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of pure cubic-phase silver, with no detectable impurity phases. Rietveld refinement was employed to determine lattice parameters, crystallite size, lattice strain, and dislocation density. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed rough, spherical to irregularly shaped particles, some exhibiting faceted surfaces. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the metallic nature of silver through characteristic Ag 3d₅/₂ and 3d₃/₂ peaks, while copper incorporation was validated by the Cu 2p doublet. In parallel, the XRD patterns of synthesized glass frits (GF-Ti and GF-Zr) exhibited peaks characteristic of amorphous structures, confirming successful formation. SEM analysis showed that GF-Ti had a highly irregular and porous morphology, whereas GF-Zr presented a denser and more compact structure. The porous GF-Ti glass frit may absorb more binder and hence increase the viscosity of the produced paste. These findings provide a foundation for the development of advanced conductive pastes tailored for photovoltaic applications. Rheological measurements revealed that all formulations exhibit shear-thinning or pseudo-plastic behavior, with viscosity decreasing under shear. The power-law model accurately described the flow behavior, showing that additives, particularly the ionic surfactant (Ti), significantly increased the consistency index compared to the base organic vehicle. Among all the pastes synthesized in this study, the Ag2-Ti formulation exhibited the most favorable rheological performance for metallic contacts printing in solar cells, with a flow index n = 0.5 and a consistency index K = 4000 Pa·sⁿ. The line profile obtained by optical microscopy showed thick, dense and well-defined printed contacts for Ag2-Ti paste with the absence of any remarkable edges along the boundaries. The electrical characterizations using the Transmission Line Method (TLM) showed a lower value of specific contact resistivity of 1.53 mΩ. cm2 for the optimized Ag2-Ti material.

Graphical abstract