Scientists have discovered that you can now take apart and rebuild a new type of solar cell using water instead of harsh chemicals, and it works just as well as the original, reported Tech Xplore.
A team at Linköping University in Sweden has created a way to recycle every part of perovskite solar cells without using toxic solvents. This breakthrough, published in Nature, solves current solar technology problems.
"There is currently no efficient technology to deal with the waste of silicon panels. That's why old solar panels end up in the landfill. Huge mountains of electronic waste that you can't do anything with," explained Xun Xiao, a researcher involved in the project.
Perovskite solar cells are an exciting alternative to traditional silicon panels. They're cheaper, lightweight, bendable, and can even be see-through. These cells convert up to 25% of sunlight into electricity, matching what today's silicon panels can do.
But making sure these new panels don't create more waste is critical.
"We need to take recycling into consideration when developing emerging solar cell technologies. If we don't know how to recycle them, maybe we shouldn't put them on the market at all," said Feng Gao, professor of optoelectronics at Linköping University.
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Unlike other recycling methods that use potentially cancer-causing chemicals, this new technique uses water to take apart old solar cells.
"We can recycle everything — covering glasses, electrodes, perovskite layers and also the charge transport layer," said researcher Xun Xiao.
Avoiding toxic chemicals in recycling protects workers and communities near recycling facilities. Plus, reusing materials means fewer raw materials need to be mined, saving money and natural resources.
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Giving me money back 💰 The researchers are now scaling up their method for industrial use. With electricity demand growing due to AI development and electric vehicles, finding clean energy sources that don't create more waste is becoming increasingly important.
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When these recyclable solar cells hit the market, they could help power our homes and businesses while keeping harmful materials out of landfills.
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