An effective and economical encapsulation method for trapping lead leakage in rigid and flexible perovskite photovoltaics. (March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Zhen; Wu, Xin; Wu, Shengfan; Gao, Danpeng; Dong, Hua; Huang, Fuzhi; Hu, Xiaotian; Jen, Alex K.-Y.; Zhu, Zonglong
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 93(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-03
• Subjects: Encapsulation -- Lead trapping -- Safe-to-use -- Perovskite photovoltaics; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106853
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: The potential lead leakage problem of perovskite solar cells poses a severe threat to the ecosystem and human health, which becomes a serious hurdle for the commercialization of this technology. To address this issue, a facile and economical encapsulation process is developed for the first time by employing the mixture of a cation-exchange resin (CER) and an ultraviolet resin as an encapsulant for coating on the metal-side of both rigid and flexible perovskite photovoltaic (PV) devices to effectively capture the leaked Pb 2+ . Consequently, over 90% of Pb 2+ from the degraded perovskite solar cells and modules can be captured by the encapsulant through an efficient reaction between CER and Pb 2+ under various conditions that simulate potential severe weather situations (acid rain after hail impact, high humidity). The lead leaching from both rigid and flexible perovskite solar modules could be reduced to < 5 ppm, which can successfully meet the laboratory assessment required for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Regulation (RCRA). This work provides an economical and effective strategy to address the toxicity issue of rigid and flexible perovskite PV devices to facilitate their commercialization. Graphical Abstract: The potential lead leakage problem of perovskite solar cells poses a severe threat to the ecosystem and human health, which becomes a serious hurdle for the commercialization of this technology. To address this issue, a facile and economical encapsulation process is developed for the first time by employing the mixture of a cation-exchange resin (CER) and an ultraviolet resin as encapsulant to effectively capture the leaked Pb 2+ . ga1 Highlights: An economical encapsulation process is developed for perovskite photovoltaic devices to capture the leaked Pb 2+ . Over 90% of Pb 2+ from the degraded perovskite photovoltaics can be captured by the encapsulant under severe weather conditions. Our strategy was successfully met the requirement for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Regulation (RCRA).