Aiming for Circular Economy with Perovskite Solar Cell Revival

Elena Akulenko^a, Mahboubeh Hadadian^a, Anna Knol^a, Maryam Esmaeilzadeh^a, Rustem Nizamov^a, Aapo Poskela^a, Kati Miettunen^a

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

Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2025 Conference (MATSUSFall25)

A4 Fundamental understanding of halide perovskite materials and devices - #PeroFun

València, Spain, 2025 October 20th - 24th

Organizers: Krishanu Dey, Iván Mora-Seró and Yana Vaynzof

Oral, Aapo Poskela, presentation 132
Publication date: 21st July 2025

Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated impressive efficiencies and affordable manufacturing costs, able to either compete with silicon solar cells or enhance them with tandem designs. [1] However, a well-known challenge with perovskite solar cells is their limited lifetime. The short life-cycle is further compounded by a lack of clear recycling strategies for perovskite solar cells. [1] Our goal in this study is to address the twin problem of short lifetime and lack of recycling methodology by demonstrating a way to revive degraded perovskite solar cells with green solution-based recycling technique.

Typically, the degradation of perovskite solar cells is caused by the deterioration of the perovskite layer itself. [2] The idea behind perovskite solar cell revival is to remove the degraded perovskite layer with a suitable solvent, in a way that the surrounding scaffold structure remains intact. The perovskite layer is then regenerated by infiltrating the scaffold with a fresh perovskite solution and annealing to remanufacture the cell. The main challenges in the revival process is thorough removal of degraded perovskite without damaging the scaffolding structure and ensuring sufficient revival rate.

We used perovskite solar cells with carbon electrodes due to their high stability and scalability. [3] The recycling was performed with green and non-toxic γ-Valerolactone (GVL) solvent [4] to maximise the sustainability of the process. Our preliminary results show that full 100 % revival rate is possible in champion cases but the technique requires further optimisation to reach these results consistently. Another important observation is that incorporating zirconia nanoparticles into the solar cell scaffold improves its robustness during degraded perovskite flushing. By embracing circular economy techniques, we can strive for more sustainable PV technologies.

References:

[1] E.S. Akulenko, M. Hadadian, A. Santasalo-Aarnio, K. Miettunen, Eco-design for perovskite solar cells to address future waste challenges and recover valuable materials, Cell.Com (2023).

[2] D. Zhang, D. Li, Y. Hu, A. Mei, H. Han, Degradation pathways in perovskite solar cells and how to meet international standards, Communications Materials 2022 3:1 3 (2022) 1–14.

[3] M. Hadadian, J.H. Smått, J.P. Correa-Baena, The role of carbon-based materials in enhancing the stability of perovskite solar cells, Energy Environ Sci 13 (2020) 1377–1407.

[4] C. Worsley, D. Raptis, S. Meroni, A. Doolin, R. Garcia-Rodriguez, M. Davies, T. Watson, γ-Valerolactone: A Nontoxic Green Solvent for Highly Stable Printed Mesoporous Perovskite Solar Cells, Energy Technology 9 (2021) 2100312.

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