SUSCHEM: A Green Chemistry Approach to Organic and Transparent Photovoltaic Material Synthesis and Device Fabrication

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PI: Annick Anctil Proposal Number: 1511098The sun represents the most abundant potential source of sustainable energy on earth. Solar cells that use organic conducting polymers to convert light to electricity - organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices - offer a potentially low-cost route for renewable electricity production. OPV devices have other unique properties such low weight, flexibility, and transparency, which enable their integration into portable electronics, smart fabrics, and buildings. As organic solar cells get closer to commercialization, it is important to understand the potential unintended consequences of their large-scale manufacturing. This project will develop and use life cycle analysis to assess the environmental impacts of organic solar cell manufacturing. Towards this end, the safety, toxicity and scarcity of the materials will be considered to determine if organic solar cells are truly a sustainable energy option. The research outcomes will suggest ways to change the manufacturing process to make OPV devices more sustainable. The educational activities of this project include student-led life cycle assessment of facilities at Michigan State University for future renewable energy building retrofits through the Students Planned Advanced Retrofit Applications (SPARTA) initiative at Michigan State University, and efforts to broaden participation of women in solar photovoltaics professional societies. The goal of the proposed research is to assess the sustainability of organic photovoltaic device (OPV) manufacture by life-cycle assessment (LCA) and green chemistry metrics. LCA will be used to identify critical steps in the life cycle where the most significant reduction in resource and emissions can be achieved, and suggest new materials synthesis and device fabrication pathways to minimize environmental impact. Toward this end, the research will 1) develop a sustainability-based approach to evaluate organic solar cell manufacturing processes using green chemistry metrics; 2) conduct life cycle inventory of materials and processes used to fabricate single and multi-junction solar cells; 3) develop LCA models to assess current environmental/health/cost impacts of OPV device manufacture, and 4) propose sustainable OPV cell design and manufacturing process based on consideration of alternative materials and processing steps. The research outcomes seek to demonstrate that integration of LCA with OPV device design and manufacture can serve as proactive model for the design of sustainable solar PV processes. Life cycle inventory data will be submitted to the Ecoinvent database to encourage future LCA studies of organic solar cells and other organic polymer based electronic devices.