# Continuous Electrolyte Jet Scanning Enabled Near-Quantitative and High-Purity Silver Recovery from Silicon Solar Cells

## TL;DR

A new method called EJSC efficiently and sustainably recovers high-purity silver from old solar cells, offering a scalable solution for recycling and reducing environmental impact.

## Contribution

EJSC introduces a selective, rapid, and sustainable silver recovery method with high efficiency and purity for silicon solar cell recycling.

## Key findings

- EJSC achieves 97.1% silver extraction in 4 minutes from a 4 cm² cell area under mild conditions.
- Recovered silver reaches 3N-level purity (99.88%) and can be used as functional fillers in electronics.
- EJSC shows strong industrial feasibility with over 91% silver yield across six repeated treatments.

## Abstract

The accelerating retirement of end-of-life silicon solar
cells
(EoL-SSCs) is creating a rapidly expanding reservoir of secondary
Ag, a critical yet finite resource, underscoring the urgent need for
sustainable, high-efficiency recovery within a circular-economy framework.
Conventional recycling routes are hindered by nonselective reactions,
energy-intensive operations, and mass-transport bottlenecks. Here,
we report a “top-down” electrolyte jet scanning (EJSC)
strategy that enables selective, rapid Ag recovery while preserving
the structural and functional integrity of the photovoltaic (PV) substrate.
Tunable control of the interelectrode gap (IEG) and coordinated nozzle
motion confines the reaction to a continuously refreshed microzone,
allowing efficient and near-quantitative Ag extraction (97.1% in 4
min) from a 4 cm2 cell area under mild conditions (2 V,
12 wt % HNO3). Continuous interfacial renewal overcomes
mass-transport limitations and produces kinetics that are significantly
faster than those of static jet or bulk electrolysis systems. The
dissolved Ag+ ions are directly reverse-electrodeposited
with high efficiency (92.6% in 3 min) into Ag powders of 3N-level purity (99.88%), demonstrating potential as functional
fillers for advanced electronics. EJSC also maintains high current
efficiency throughout the operation (extraction, 89.6%; recovery,
79.6%) and sustains high Ag yield (>91%) over six repeated treatments,
validating its strong industrial feasibility and scalability. Life-cycle
and techno-economic assessments (LCA–TEA) further reveal that
the process robustness of EJSC leads to markedly lower environmental
impacts and significantly enhanced economic returns (>2500 USD/(kg
of Ag)) relative to conventional processes. The confined-jet architecture
inherently accommodates the thin, chemically sensitive passivation
stacks used in emerging PV technologies. Integrating laboratory-level
precision with industrial-scale throughput, EJSC delivers a closed-loop
pathway for PV waste upcycling and establishes a versatile, sustainable
platform for future urban mining of critical metals.