Lead toxicity and leaching risks
Most perovskite formulations contain lead, which poses risks of environmental contamination through leaching during degradation or improper disposal. While studies show minimal ecotoxicity impact during normal operation, potential lead release under extreme conditions (e.g., fires, severe weather) remains a critical concern.
Stability vulnerabilities
Perovskite layers are sensitive to moisture, oxygen, and mechanical stress, accelerating degradation unless mitigated by advanced encapsulation. This instability complicates long-term deployment without additional protective engineering.
Recycling limitations
Traditional recycling methods often fail to recover lead and rare materials like silver efficiently, risking resource depletion and toxic waste accumulation. Recent advances propose specialized recycling techniques to address this, but standardized systems remain underdeveloped.
Manufacturing impacts
While perovskite-on-silicon tandem modules show 6–18% lower environmental impacts than conventional silicon panels in some metrics, their production still contributes to global warming potential and resource depletion, particularly from silicon wafer manufacturing.
Recent strategies focus on encapsulation improvements, lead-absorbing materials, and alternative non-toxic perovskites to mitigate these challenges. Concurrent efforts to establish circular economy practices aim to recover high-value materials and reduce waste.
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