Cellulose in Perovskite Solar Cells: from Substrates to Additives

Joaquín Valdez García^a, Joice Jaqueline Kaschuk^b^,^c, Yazan Al Haj^d, Aleksi Kamppinen^a, Orlando J. Rojas^b^,^c, Tiffany Abitbol^e^,^f, Jaana Vapaavuori^d, Kati Miettunen^a

^aDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Turku, FI-20500 Turku, Finland

^bDepartment of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076, Aalto, Espoo, Finland

^cDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2360 East Mall, The University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z3 Vancouver, BC, Canada

^dDepartment of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland

^eRISE Research Institutes of Sweden, SE-114 28 Stockholm, Sweden

^fInstitute of Materials, School of Engineering, EPFL, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV24)

València, Spain, 2024 May 12th - 15th

Organizer: Bruno Ehrler

Poster, Joaquín Valdez García, 200
Publication date: 6th February 2024

To satisfy our need for green energy more and more photovoltaic devices need to be fabricated. In order to be fully sustainable, these devices will need to be able to be recycled. Perovskite solar cells are usually fabricated on glass and using valuable materials that would need to be recovered, like silver, indium, lead, etc. One solution is to substitute glass for a burnable material like cellulose. Compared to synthetic polymeric substrates like PET and PEN, cellulose is a bio-based material with a low environmental impact and can be easily sourced and disposed of [1]. While having a lot of potential, cellulose still faces some challenges that need to be solved. In this work we discuss both the pros and cons of using cellulose as a substrate in photovoltaics, and how processing affects the properties of the films [2]. Additionally, we also discuss how cellulose has been used as an additive to improve the efficiency and stability of solar cells [3], [4].

References:

[1] Miettunen, K.; Hadadian, M.; García, J. V.; Lawrynowicz, A.; Akulenko, E.; Rojas, O. J.; Hummel, M.; Vapaavuori, J. Bio‐based Materials for Solar Cells. WIREs Energy and Environment 2024, 13 (1). https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.508.

[2] Kaschuk, J. J.; Al Haj, Y.; Valdez Garcia, J.; Kamppinen, A.; Rojas, O. J.; Abitbol, T.; Miettunen, K.; Vapaavuori, J. Processing Factors Affecting Roughness, Optical and Mechanical Properties of Nanocellulose Films for Optoelectronics. Carbohydr Polym 2024, 332, 121877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.121877.

[3] Zhang, P.; Gu, N.; Song, L.; Chen, W.-H.; Du, P.; Yin, X.; Xiong, J. Bifunctional Green Cellulose Derivatives Employed for High Efficiency and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells under Ambient Environment. J Alloys Compd 2021, 886, 161247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.161247.

[4] Ozkaya, V.; Sadegh, F.; Unal, M.; Alkan, B.; Ebic, M.; Ozturk, T.; Yilmaz, M.; Akin, S. Eco-Friendly Boost for Perovskite Photovoltaics: Harnessing Cellulose-Modified SnO 2 as a High-Performance Electron Transporting Material. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c12698.

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International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.

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