Comprehensive review of photovoltaic paste: Materials, processing, and performance optimization

Addressing the photovoltaic industry's urgent need for efficient, low-cost, and sustainable metallization pastes, this review targets the existing lack of systematic integration of multi-component synergistic mechanisms and sustainable development pathways. This review comprehensively analyzes the cross-scale interactions between conductive materials, glass powder, organic carriers, and additives in pastes. By quantifying the underlying performance gap between lead-containing glass systems (e.g., PbO-B₂O₃-SiO₂, with a conductivity of 2.62 μΩ cm) and lead-free alternatives (e.g., TeO₂-Bi₂O₃-ZnO, with a conductivity of only 0.029 Ω cm²), this review proposes compensatory strategies through low-temperature sintering and interface modification. A systematic map of precious metal reduction technologies is constructed, demonstrating the synergistic optimization potential of Cu-Ag core-shell structures (9 % Ag loading) and gradient printing (reducing silver by 40 % and increasing efficiency by 0.5 %). Furthermore, an innovative, full-chain sustainable solution is designed, encompassing intelligent carriers (temperature-responsive polymers), interface strengthening (silver nano-islands + molecular spring layers), and closed-loop recycling (selective silver dissolution >90 % using ionic liquids). This research provides the first cross-scale design framework for breaking through the impossible triangle of “performance-cost-environmental protection” of photovoltaic pastes.