Soil adsorption and transport of lead in the presence of perovskite solar cell-derived organic cations

Arindam Mallick; Rene D Mendez Lopez; Gilboa Arye; David Cahen; Iris Visoly-Fisher

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131147

Soil adsorption and transport of lead in the presence of perovskite solar cell-derived organic cations

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Jun 5:451:131147. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131147. Epub 2023 Mar 5.

Authors

Arindam Mallick¹, Rene D Mendez Lopez², Gilboa Arye³, David Cahen⁴, Iris Visoly-Fisher⁵

Affiliations

¹ Solar Energy Center, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel.
² Dept. of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan Univ., Ramat Gan 52900, Israel; Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA), Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel.
³ French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 849900, Israel. Electronic address: aryeg@bgu.ac.il.
⁴ Dept. of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan Univ., Ramat Gan 52900, Israel; Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA), Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel; Mol. Chem. & Mater. Sci. Dept., Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Electronic address: david.cahen@weizmann.ac.il.
⁵ Solar Energy Center, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel. Electronic address: irisvf@bgu.ac.il.

PMID: 36893601
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131147

Abstract

Perovskite photovoltaics offer a highly efficient and low-cost solar energy harvesting technology. However, the presence of lead (Pb) cations in photovoltaic halide perovskite (HaPs) materials is concerning, and quantifying the environmental hazard of accidental Pb²⁺ leaching into the soil is crucial for assessing the sustainability of this technology. Pb²⁺ from inorganic salts was previously found to remain in the upper soil layers due to adsorption. However, Pb-HaPs contain additional organic and inorganic cations, and competitive cation adsorption may affect Pb²⁺ retention in soils. Therefore, we measured, analyzed by simulations and report the depths to which Pb²⁺ from HaPs penetrates into 3 types of agricultural soil. Most of the HaP-leached Pb²⁺ is found to be retained already in the first cm of the soil columns, and subsequent rain events do not induce Pb²⁺ penetration below the first few cm of soil surface. Surprisingly, organic co-cations from the dissolved HaP are found to enhance the Pb²⁺ adsorption capacity in clay-rich soil, compared to non-HaP-based Pb²⁺ sources. Our results imply that installation over soil types with improved Pb²⁺ adsorption, and removal of only the contaminated topsoil, are sufficient means to prevent ground water contamination by HaP-leached Pb²⁺.

Keywords: Environmental impact; Halide perovskites; Pb; Soil; Transport.