Selective Adsorption-Assisted Recovery of Lead and Metals from Acidic Leachates of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

End-of-life disposal of flexible perovskite solar cells (PSCs) remains a major challenge due to lack of efficient recovery technologies for toxic lead (Pb) and valuable metals like gold (Au) from electrodes and indium (In) from ITO-PET substrates. In this study, we investigate an effective recovery strategy for discarded flexible PSCs using a cellulose-based adsorbent (DMC-2) and chelating resins. From the solution obtained by dissolving PSCs, Au is selectively recovered under strongly acidic conditions with a recovery efficiency of 91.6% using DMC-2, while subsequent pH adjustment enables nearly complete recovery of Pb (99.7%) and In (100%) using the chelating resin. This approach provides an environmentally responsible and highly efficient pathway for recovering toxic Pb and valuable metals from flexible PSCs, which is needed to support their sustainable utilization.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Published
2026-05-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c02566
Primary Topic
Extraction and Separation Processes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Selective Adsorption-Assisted Recovery of Lead and Metals from Acidic Leachates of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

Makoto Karakawa, Jean‐Michel Nunzi, Hidetaka Yamada, Shoji Yoshioka et al.
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Extraction and Separation Processes
article

Selective Adsorption-Assisted Recovery of Lead and Metals from Acidic Leachates of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

Makoto Karakawa, Jean‐Michel Nunzi, Hidetaka Yamada, Shoji Yoshioka, Wong Kuo Hong, Tetsuya Taima, Tatsuya Nishimura, Katsuhiro Maeda, Masahiro Nakano, Pranta Sarker, Kaito Suzuki, Ruka Yazawa, Asami S. Mashio, Hiroshi Hasegawa, Yugo Nakahara, Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Md. Shahiduzzaman
article en

Abstract

End-of-life disposal of flexible perovskite solar cells (PSCs) remains a major challenge due to lack of efficient recovery technologies for toxic lead (Pb) and valuable metals like gold (Au) from electrodes and indium (In) from ITO-PET substrates. In this study, we investigate an effective recovery strategy for discarded flexible PSCs using a cellulose-based adsorbent (DMC-2) and chelating resins. From the solution obtained by dissolving PSCs, Au is selectively recovered under strongly acidic conditions with a recovery efficiency of 91.6% using DMC-2, while subsequent pH adjustment enables nearly complete recovery of Pb (99.7%) and In (100%) using the chelating resin. This approach provides an environmentally responsible and highly efficient pathway for recovering toxic Pb and valuable metals from flexible PSCs, which is needed to support their sustainable utilization.

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Kanazawa University (JP), Queens University (BD), Frontier Science Foundation (CH), Life Science Institute (JP), Astronomy and Space (AU), Islamic University of Madinah (SA)
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Extraction and Separation Processes
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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