Life cycle assessment of organic solar cells and perovskite solar cells with graphene transparent electrodes

Abstract

Indium Tin Oxide as the transparent electrode in solar cells has shown a bottleneck due to the use of scarce mental. The graphene transparent electrode (GTE) opens a sustainable route for third-generation solar cells. This work investigates the environmental performance of flexible organic solar cells and perovskite solar cells with GTEs by life cycle assessment. The manufacturing process of solar cells is developed including detailed production procedures of GTEs. The comprehensive life cycle inventories (LCIs) are provided for two kinds of solar cells. According to LCIs, life cycle impact assessment is carried on to unmask various impact categories in their full life cycles. Sensitivity analyses using the Monte Carlo method are conducted to quantify the uncertainty of final environmental impacts. The results prove that perovskite solar cells with GTEs have the shortest Energy Payback Time. A longer lifespan of both solar cells should be pursued to meet the requirement of sustainable manufacture.