Assessing the potential toxicity of hazardous material released from Pb-based perovskite solar cells to crop plants

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells are of interest to the solar power industry because of their comparatively low cost and simple manufacturing process. Large-scale solar arrays are typically located near arable land. However, limited data on the toxicity of perovskite compounds are currently available. This study investigated the effect of potentially hazardous chemicals from Pb-based perovskite solar cells on two crop plants (mungbean and sorghum). The direct exposure of a single chemical (PbI2) in soil media was simulated, a plant soil assay was conducted, and phytotoxicity was subsequently evaluated. After 21 days of exposure, toxicity symptoms in plant growth and physiological responses were observed. The results show that plant root and shoot growth and photosynthetic capacity all remarkably decreased by chemical exposure. Both Pb and I were found to be associated with toxicity symptoms. The reactions of these crop plants to PbI2 exposure indicate the potential phytotoxicity of leachable compounds from Pb-based perovskite solar cells; further, the results obtained in this study will contribute to the assessment of risks associated with the use of these cells in large-scale commercial solar arrays.