Assessing the toxicity of Pb- and Sn-based perovskite solar cells in model organism Danio rerio

Abstract

Intensive development of organometal halide perovskite solar cells has lead to a dramatic surge in power conversion efficiency up to 20%. Unfortunately, the most efficient perovskite solar cells all contain lead (Pb), which is an unsettling flaw that leads to severe environmental concerns and is therefore a stumbling block envisioning their large-scale application. Aiming for the retention of favorable electro-optical properties, tin (Sn) has been considered the most likely substitute. Preliminary studies have however shown that Sn-based perovskites are highly unstable and, moreover, Sn is also enlisted as a harmful chemical, with similar concerns regarding environment and health. To bring more clarity into the appropriateness of both metals in perovskite solar cells, we provide a case study with systematic comparison regarding the environmental impact of Pb- and Sn-based perovskites, using zebrafish (Danio Rerio) as model organism. Uncovering an unexpected route of intoxication in the form of acidification, it is shown that Sn based perovskite may not be the ideal Pb surrogate.

Lead‐Free Hybrid Perovskite Absorbers for Viable Application: Can We Eat the Cake and Have It too?

“…Thus, we argue that the Sn‐based absorbers are the most promising surrogate for Pb in PSCs. However, we have bear in mind that Sn element is still harmful to the human body in their practical utilization,224, 225 while Bi, Sb, and Cu are more environmentally friendly. Finally, we should think about our initial question: can we get the clean power output from the new hybrid absorbers without the danger of environmental contamination?226 The answer may need to be found in the future development of new lead‐free hybrid light harvesting materials.…”

Exploration of fabrication methods for planar CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells

“…The PbI 2 morphology of the 2-step solution processed perovskite is affected by the temperature of the substrate or the solutions. [7] Although these research efforts have advanced PeSCs, there are still a number of open questions: toxicity, [18] the stability, [19] reliability, uncertainty in the measurement of efficiency (hysteresis, overestimation), [20][21][22][23] the choice of interfacial layer, [3] crystallinity (preferred vs non-preferred orientation, [24][25][26] big vs small grain size [27,28]), and structural device (planar vs mesoporous, [29] inverted vs normal [30,31]). Considering the sensitivity and instability of perovskites under ambient condition, it is actually difficult to reproduce the result of PeSCs fabricated by many research groups [32] and trust their results because conditions between laboratories are significantly different and some papers may include selectively picked data for showing record efficiency.…”

Design of Lead-Free Inorganic Halide Perovskites for Solar Cells via Cation-Transmutation

“…This will inevitably cause potential environmental concerns for large-scale solar cell devices. [45][46][47] Consequently, it is of great interest to find alternative halide perovskites consisting of completely inorganic components having good stability and meanwhile made of less toxic elements. .The red squares mean the materials passing the screening (Selected) and the green ones mean not passing (Abandoned).…”