Highly Selective Recovery of Silver from End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels

Yao Chen; Tianle Hu; Xinru Wang; Xinwei Wang; Zhenyu Wang; Lifei Zhang; Shuhui Guan; Ting Zhang; Zhenfeng Bian

doi:10.1007/s12209-025-00453-1

Transactions of Tianjin University ›› 2025, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (5) :452 -462. DOI: 10.1007/s12209-025-00453-1

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Highly Selective Recovery of Silver from End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels

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¹MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, 200234, Shanghai, China

^a shguan@shnu.edu.cn

^b ting.zhang@shnu.edu.cn

^c bianzhenfeng@shnu.edu.cn

Yao Chen

Yao Chen obtained her Ph.D. from Fudan University in 2024. She received her master’s degree from Shanghai Normal University in 2020. Her current research focuses on the efficient and selective recovery of precious metals by photocatalysis.

Tianle Hu

Tianle Hu is currently a postgraduate student at Shanghai Normal University. His research focuses on the precious metal recovery from industrial wastes.

Xingru Wang

Xinru Wang obtained her Master’s degree from Shanghai Normal University. Her research focuses on the selective recovery of silver from discarded solar photovoltaic panels using green technologies.

Xinwei Wang

Xinwei Wang is currently an undergraduate student at Shanghai Normal University, under the supervision of Dr. Ting Zhang, working on the precious metal recovery from wastes.

Zhenyu Wang

Zhenyu Wang is currently an undergraduate student at Shanghai Normal University, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Zhenfeng Bian, with a research focus on precious metal recovery from industrial wastes.

Lifei Zhang

Lifei Zhang is currently an undergraduate student at Shanghai Normal University, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Zhenfeng Bian. His research interests mainly focus on photocatalysis.

Shuhui Guan

Shuhui Guan obtained her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, specializing in theoretical and computational chemistry, from Fudan University in 2016. She is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China. Her research focuses on theoretical and computational studies of metal and metal-oxide structures and properties, catalytic processes, and precious-metal recovery mechanisms, with further exploration of machine-learning applications to understand and optimize catalytic and environmentally relevant chemical processes.

Ting Zhang

Ting Zhang is a lecture at school of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China. She obtained a Ph.D. at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2023, and received her master’s degree from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) in 2019. Her research interest is focused on the recovery and reutilization of trace precious metal ions from industrial wastewater resources.

Zhenfeng Bian

Zhenfeng Bian received his Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry from the Shanghai Normal University in 2010. He has been a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Professor Tetsuro Majima during 2010–2013. He became a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Shanghai Normal University in 2013. His research interests are focused on fundamental theory and application research on photocatalysis, involving precious metal recovery from waste, theoretical pollution control chemistry, catalyst synthesis methodology, etc.

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Abstract

The efficient recovery of silver (Ag) from retired photovoltaic (PV) panels is crucial for resource sustainability and environmental protection. This study developed an environmentally friendly leaching method using ammonia (NH₃·H₂O) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), achieving the selective dissolution of Ag from retired crystalline silicon solar panels. Meanwhile, nonprecious metals such as aluminum (Al) and lead (Pb), which are commonly found in PV cells, were barely dissolved, demonstrating the excellent selectivity of this method for Ag. Light irradiation significantly improved the dissolution efficiency of Ag and reduced the amount of the reagent used. Ag dissolution occurred owing to a dual-pathway synergistic effect, which stemmed from the direct oxidation of Ag by H₂O₂. The strongly oxidizing hydroxyl radicals generated by photocatalysis accelerated the oxidation and dissolution of Ag. In addition, NH₃·H₂O effectively promoted the dissolution and stabilization of oxidation products by forming soluble Ag–NH₃·H₂O complexes ([Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺). This article reports an efficient, selective, and environmentally friendly strategy of Ag recovery and elucidates the radical-mediated dissolution mechanism under light-driven conditions, offering a feasible way for sustainably recovering valuable metals from retired PV panels.

Keywords

Silver recovery / Retired photovoltaic panels / Oxidation-coordination synergy / Hydroxyl radicals / Selective dissolution

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Yao Chen, Tianle Hu, Xinru Wang, Xinwei Wang, Zhenyu Wang, Lifei Zhang, Shuhui Guan, Ting Zhang, Zhenfeng Bian. Highly Selective Recovery of Silver from End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels. Transactions of Tianjin University, 2025, 31(5): 452-462 DOI:10.1007/s12209-025-00453-1

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