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1. Recycling lead and transparent conductors from perovskite solar modules

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26121-1  

   Chen, Bo; Fei, Chengbin; Chen, Shangshang; Gu, Hangyu; Xiao, Xun; Huang, Jinsong (December 2021, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Perovskite photovoltaics are gaining increasing common ground to partner with or compete with silicon photovoltaics to reduce cost of solar energy. However, a cost-effective waste management for toxic lead (Pb), which might determine the fate of this technology, has not been developed yet. Here, we report an end-of-life material management for perovskite solar modules to recycle toxic lead and valuable transparent conductors to protect the environment and create dramatic economic benefits from recycled materials. Lead is separated from decommissioned modules by weakly acidic cation exchange resin, which could be released as soluble Pb(NO 3 ) 2 followed by precipitation as PbI 2 for reuse, with a recycling efficiency of 99.2%. Thermal delamination disassembles the encapsulated modules with intact transparent conductors and cover glasses. The refabricated devices based on recycled lead iodide and recycled transparent conductors show comparable performance as devices based on fresh raw materials. Cost analysis shows this recycling technology is economically attractive. 

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2. Multi-functional transparent electrode for reliable flexible perovskite solar cells

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.226768  

   Han, Gill Sang; Lee, Seongha; Duff, Matthew Lawrence; Qin, Fen; Jiang, Minlin; Li, Guangyong; Lee, Jung-Kun (September 2019, Journal of Power Sources)
3. Transparent Quasi-Interdigitated Electrodes for Semitransparent Perovskite Back-Contact Solar Cells

   DeLuca, G. (August 2018, ACS applied energy materials)

   Transparent quasi-interdigitated electrodes (t-QIDEs) were produced by replacing the opaque components of existing QIDEs with indium tin oxide (ITO). We demonstrate their application in the first semitransparent back-contact perovskite solar cell. A device with a VOC of 0.88 V and a JSC of 5.6 mA cm–2 produced a modest 1.7% efficiency. The use of ITO allows for illumination of the device from front and rear sides, resembling a bifacial solar cell, both of which yield comparable efficiencies. Coupled optoelectronic simulations reveal this architecture may achieve power conversion efficiencies of up to 11.5% and 13.3% when illuminated from the front and rear side, respectively, using a realistic quality of perovskite material. 

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4. Transparent Quasi-Interdigitated Electrodes for Semitransparent Perovskite Back-Contact Solar Cells

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.8b01140  

   DeLuca, Giovanni; Jumabekov, Askhat N.; Hu, Yinghong; Simonov, Alexandr N.; Lu, Jianfeng; Tan, Boer; Adhyaksa, Gede W.; Garnett, Erik C.; Reichmanis, Elsa; Chesman, Anthony S.; et al (September 2018, ACS Applied Energy Materials)
5. Metallic line defect in wide-bandgap transparent perovskite BaSnO ₃

   https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4449  

   Yun, Hwanhui; Topsakal, Mehmet; Prakash, Abhinav; Jalan, Bharat; Jeong, Jong Seok; Birol, Turan; Mkhoyan, K. Andre (January 2021, Science Advances)

   null (Ed.)

   A line defect with metallic characteristics has been found in optically transparent BaSnO 3 perovskite thin films. The distinct atomic structure of the defect core, composed of Sn and O atoms, was visualized by atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). When doped with La, dopants that replace Ba atoms preferentially segregate to specific crystallographic sites adjacent to the line defect. The electronic structure of the line defect probed in STEM with electron energy-loss spectroscopy was supported by ab initio theory, which indicates the presence of Fermi level–crossing electronic bands that originate from defect core atoms. These metallic line defects also act as electron sinks attracting additional negative charges in these wide-bandgap BaSnO 3 films. 

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