Solution and vapour deposited lead perovskite solar cells: Ecotoxicity from a life cycle assessment perspective

Espinosa, Nieves; Serrano-Luján, Lucía; Urbina, Antonio; Krebs, Frederik C.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2015.02.013

Cited by 218 publications

(225 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…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).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2017

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Hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskites with the prototype material of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 have recently attracted intense interest as low-cost and high-performance photovoltaic absorbers. Despite the high power conversion efficiency exceeding 20% achieved by their solar cells, two key issues -the poor device stabilities associated with their intrinsic material instability and the toxicity due to water soluble Pb 2+ -need to be resolved before large-scale commercialization. Here, we address these issues by exploiting the strategy of cation-transmutation to design stable inorganic Pb-free halide perovskites for solar cells. The idea is to convert two divalent Pb 2+ ions into one monovalent M + and one trivalent M 3+ ions, forming a rich class of quaternary halides in double-perovskite structure. We find through first-principles calculations this class of materials have good phase stability against decomposition and wide-range tunable optoelectronic properties. With photovoltaic-functionality-directed materials screening, we identify eleven optimal materials with intrinsic thermodynamic stability, suitable band gaps, small carrier effective masses, and low excitons binding energies as promising candidates to replace Pb-based photovoltaic absorbers in perovskite solar cells. The chemical trends of phase stabilities and electronic properties are also established for this class of materials, offering useful guidance for the development of perovskite solar cells fabricated with them.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2017

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“…[25][26][27][28][29] Recently, a comparison of PSCs with silicon solar cells and a tandem with both perovskite and silicon was implemented. 30 Furthermore, the four most common methods to produce PSCs were environmentally revised by us.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of multiple cation/anion perovskite solar cells through life cycle assessment

Alberola-Borràs

Vidal

Mora‐Seró

2018

Sustainable Energy Fuels

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After the great initiation of perovskite as a photovoltaic material, laboratory efficiencies similar to other photovoltaic technologies already commercialised have been reached. Consequently, recent research interests on perovskite solar cells try to address the stability improvement as well as make its industrialisation possible. Record efficiencies in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been achieved using as active material a multiple cation/anion perovskite by combining methylammonium (MA) and formamidinium (FA), but also Cs cation and I and Br as anions, materials that also have demonstrated a superior stability. Herein, the environmental performance of the production of such perovskite films was evaluated via life cycle assessment. Our study points out that multiple cation/anion perovskite films show major detrimental environmental impacts for all categories assessed, except for abiotic depletion potential, when they are compared with a canonical perovskite MAPbI 3 . In addition, a closer analysis of the materials utilised for the synthesis of the different multiple cation perovskites compositions revealed that lead halide reagents and chlorobenzene were the most adverse compounds in terms of impact. However, the former is used in all the perovskite compositions and the later can be avoided by the use of alternative fabrication methods to anti-solvent. To this extent, FAI, with the current synthesis procedures, is the most determining compound as it increases significantly the impacts and the cost in comparison with MAI. A further economic analysis, exposed that multiple cation perovskites need a significantly higher photoconversion efficiency to produce the same payback times than canonical perovskite.2

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“…It thus becomes important to investigate the potential risks associated to the health and environment related to Pb content. 214,215 There has been much discussion about replacing Pb with other elements such as Sn to overcome the potential toxicity and environmental impacts. However whereas efficiencies above 20% have been reported for CH 3 Not only the fact that tin metal is 6.3 times more expensive than lead, but, from the life-cycle perspective, the environmental impacts caused by tin based PSCs (accounting material extraction and device fabrication) produced on a functional scale (1 kW h) were estimated to be nearly double to that of lead based PSCs.…”

Section: Life Cycle Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The environmental impacts (EI) of PV technology can be classified in three categories: (i) toxicity (cancer, non-cancer and human health), (ii) fresh water contamination, and (iii) resource depletion. 215 These include not only material extraction, resource utilization during manufacturing of PVs and the impact during lifetime but also the life-cycle during or after disposal via landfill or incineration. In term of resource depletion, f-PSCs offer advantages over glass based counterparts reducing EI by B40% (mainly by reduction in energy required for ETL annealing and FTO/ITO substrates heating/cleaning) 214 and also during re-cycling, thus reducing CO 2 footprint.…”

Section: Life Cycle Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress, challenges and perspectives in flexible perovskite solar cells

Giacomo

Fakharuddin

Jose

et al. 2016

Energy Environ. Sci.

382

257

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a Perovskite solar cells have attracted enormous interest since their discovery only a few years ago because they are able to combine the benefits of high efficiency and remarkable ease of processing over large areas. Whereas most of research has been carried out on glass, perovskite deposition and synthesis is carried out at low temperatures (o150 1C) to convert precursors into its final semiconducting form. Thus, developing the technology on flexible substrates can be considered a suitable and exciting arena both from the manufacturing view point (e.g. web processing, low embodied energy manufacturing) and that of the applications (e.g. flexible, lightweight, portable, easy to integrate over both small, large and curved surfaces). Research has been accelerating on flexible PSCs and has achieved notable milestones including PCEs of 15.6% on laboratory cells, the first modules being manufactured, ultralight cells with record power per gram ratios, and even cells made on fibres.Reviewing the literature, it becomes apparent that more work can be carried out in closing the efficiency gap with glass based counterparts especially at the large-area module level and, in particular, investigating and improving the lifetime of these devices which are built on inherently permeable plastic films. Here we review and provide a perspective on the issues pertaining progress in materials, processes, devices, industrialization and costs of flexible perovskite solar cells. Broader contextFor a number of years, solar cells had been considered as an inferior energy technology due to high cost -even in the renewable energy paradigm; however, more recently progress in materials processing and engineering of highly efficient and stable solar panels have helped them emerge as a frontline renewable energy technology with energy payback time that has been lowered from over a decade to a couple of years (at least in some parts of the world) during the last ten years. Commercial solar panels are typically manufactured on rigid platforms. Fabricating them on flexible substrates, such as transparent plastics and metallic foils, would enable effective harvesting of energy in a number of diverse areas from indoor electronics to automobiles and from building integrated photovoltaics to portable applications. Furthermore, it would open up web-based roll-to-roll fabrication conducive to massive throughputs. Solution processable perovskite solar cells offer promising opportunities towards this end. Being these cells the most efficient among the solution processable ones, with efficiency in their laboratory scale devices on par with the commercially available silicon and thin film counterparts, significant recent efforts devoted to their manufacturing on flexible substrates have seen efficiencies rise as high as 15.6% together with moderate stability. We approach the developments in this area by critically analyzing the factors affecting the final performance indicators such as efficiency, stability, and functionality and relate these to its proces...

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Solution and vapour deposited lead perovskite solar cells: Ecotoxicity from a life cycle assessment perspective

Cited by 218 publications

References 19 publications

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

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

Evaluation of multiple cation/anion perovskite solar cells through life cycle assessment

Progress, challenges and perspectives in flexible perovskite solar cells

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