The INFINITY project is about to conclude having achieved very promising results in the substitution of a critical material like Indium. In summary, Lurederra did different flame spray pyrolysis produced Si doped ZnO (SZO) and Nb doped TiO2 (SZO) nanoparticles at laboratory scale, transferring the required knowledge to the company Tecnan so that they could finally produce the selected mixed nanoparticles at pilot scale. Additionally, Lurederra is collaborating with other partners in the development of ink formulations containing the conductive nanoparticles with very promising results, since those formulations have been validated regarding their printability when deposited on glass and flexible plastic substrates, obtaining appropriate values of transparency and fixation.
The INFINITY European project, “Indium-free transparent conductive oxide coatings for glass and plastic substrates”, started in December 2014 and proposed the development of novel inks for transparent conductive thin coatings used in a variety of optoelectronic devices including flat panel displays, and photovoltaic cells. At the moment, indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most commonly used material for these applications, however indium is a scarce and expensive element. Thus, the two main objectives of INFINITY were to develop indium-free oxide coatings with similar electrical conductivity and as high optical transmission as ITO coatings and to deposit these coatings and patterns by a direct, cost-effective printing process.
The consortium of the project consists of 7 partners: TWI Limited (TWI), Leibniz – Institut Fuer Neue Materialien Gemeinnuetzige GmbH (INM), University of Hull (UHull), EpiValence LTD (EPI), Tecnología Navarra de Nanoproductos S.L. (TEC), OPVIUS GmbH (OPV) and Lurederra Fundación para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y Social (LUREDERRA).
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 641927.
