Environmentally Viable Solvent Management in Perovskite Solar Cell Recycling Process

In the pursuit of ecofriendly and cost-effective commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), efforts have been made to develop recycling technologies. Currently, most recycling processes use solvents that are toxic to both humans and the environment. Thus, this study proposes an efficient approach to recover and reuse toxic solvents used in the recycling process. Detailed evaluations are conducted to assess the effects of residual substances in the PSC-dissolved solvents, and a two-step selective dissolution process was used for effective solvent recycling. PSCs were sequentially immersed in chlorobenzene and N,N'-dimethylformamide solvents, and each solvent was recovered for reuse in PSC refabrication. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of a toxic solvent recycling process for PSC refabrication and the recycling of dissolved hole-conducting materials. The fabricated PSCs exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 25.02%, which was comparable to that of 25.12% of the original PSCs.

Automated summary

This study proposes an efficient approach to recover and reuse toxic solvents used in the recycling process of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Through detailed evaluations and a two-step selective dissolution process, the study demonstrates the feasibility of a toxic solvent recycling process for PSC refabrication and the recycling of dissolved hole-conducting materials. The fabricated PSCs exhibited a comparable power conversion efficiency to that of the original PSCs.