Microbial Immobilization for Enhancing Environmental Sustainability of Perovskite Photovoltaics
Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) demonstrate growing commercialization potential among emerging photovoltaic technologies. However, the potential leakage of heavy metal ions such as Pb(II) and Sn(II) from PSCs poses significant environmental and health threats, yet the environment’s capacity to respond remains unknown. This work pioneeringly reports the environment’s natural remediation potential in addressing the risks of perovskite leakage. We find that environmental waste yeasts can efficiently capture leaked Pb(II) and Sn(II) through a combination of physical and chemical adsorption mechanisms. These perovskite heavy metals are further biotransformed and immobilized. Additionally, our study shows a higher removal rate for Sn ions, revealing enhanced environmental sustainability by applying lead-free perovskite photovoltaics. This work conveys a microbial cleanup strategy for removing perovskite heavy metals from the environment, contributing to the advancing practical implementation of perovskite photovoltaics.
Authors
- Fei Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7735-0960)
- Weijia Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4339-0435)
- Antonio Abate (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3012-3541)
- Jianglin Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0766-9909)
- Guixiang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8730-0713)
- Tianxiao Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1987-3915)
- Meng Ke Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0360-7791)
- Jiayuan Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2458-6926)
- Jie Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4494-1844)
- Markus Weigand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0325-2268)
- Zhe Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5680-0486)
- Jianhua Yuan
Institutions
- Tongji University (CN)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- Henan University (CN)
- Bielefeld University (DE)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE)
- University of Jinan (CN)
- Shanghai Ocean University (CN)
- University of Naples Federico II (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Materials Letters
- Published
- 2024-09-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialslett.4c01360
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Perovskite Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.63
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- H2020 European Research Council