Recycling of MAPbI3 perovskite solar cells

• In the era of rapidly evolving photovoltaic deployment, closed-loop recycling is critical. However, recycling of commercial silicon photovoltaic modules poses challenges due to laborious module separation. In contrast, the layers in solution-processed solar cells can be separated relatively easily through selective dissolution.

  
  

  In this study, Ian Marius Peters et al. from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany report the recovery of each layer in a planar MAPbI3 perovskite solar cell using a layer-by-layer solvent extraction method, followed by purification or modification to restore the quality. This approach potentially allows up to 99.97% recycled quality, saving resources and reducing waste. During the solar cell production process, the material quality is evaluated by replacing each new material with recycled material. Subsequently, solar cells are manufactured with a few or all layers consisting of recycled materials. Each combination produced efficiencies comparable to cells built entirely from fresh materials, demonstrating the effectiveness of the developed recycling process.

  
  

  The quality and value analysis highlighted that ITO glass has the highest recycling priority and that byproduct chemicals, especially cleaning agents, need to be recycled. Techno-economic forecasts indicate that the proposed recycling program has the potential for significant cost savings. Recycling could reduce material costs by up to 63.7% in the laboratory and up to 61.4% in industrial manufacturing. Life cycle assessments indicate that this recycling method could reduce environmental impact.

  
  

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• B. Park, G. Kim, C. Kamal, BS Mun, UB Cappel, H. Rensmo, K. Kim, M. Odelius and SI Seok, Pyrolytic fragmentation-induced defect formation in formamidinium lead halide perovskite thin film and photovoltaic performance limits. Energy Environ. Sci., 2024.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1039/D4EE01075B

  
  

  https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/ee/d4ee01075b