Oxide-Halide Perovskite Composites for Simultaneous Recycling of Lead Zirconate Titanate Piezoceramics and Methylammonium Lead Iodide Solar Cells

Global concerns over energy availability and the environment impose an urgent requirement for sustainable manufacturing, usage, and disposal of electronic components. Piezoelectric and photovoltaic components are being extensively used. They contain the hazardous element, Pb (e.g., in widely used and researched Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 and halide perovskites), but they are not being properly recycled or reused. This work demonstrates the fabrication of upside-down composite sensor materials using crushed ceramic particles recycled from broken piezoceramics, polycrystalline halide perovskite powder collected from waste dye-sensitized solar cells, and crystal particles of a Cd-based perovskite composition, C6H5N(CH3)(3)CdBr3xCl3(1-x). The piezoceramic and halide perovskite particles are used as filler and binder, respectively, to show a proof of concept for the chemical and microstructural compatibility between the oxide and halide perovskite compounds while being recycled simultaneously. Production of the recycled and reusable materials requires only a marginal energy budget while achieving a very high material densification of >92%, as well as a 40% higher piezoelectric voltage coefficient, i.e., better sensing capability, than the pristine piezoceramics. This work thus offers an energy- and environmentally friendly approach to the recycling of hazardous elements as well as giving a second life to waste piezoelectric and photovoltaic components.