Environmental Impacts and Cost Analysis of Perovskite Nanocrystals for Light-Emitting Diode Applications

Perovskite colloidal nanocrystals (PeNCs) exhibit outstanding optoelectronic properties, making them promising candidates for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Despite the remarkable performance improvements in perovskite-based LEDs (PeLEDs) over the years, a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA), covering their synthesis and purification, operation, and end-of-life disposal, remains crucial as large-scale production and commercialization approach. This study provides an exhaustive study of environmental impacts and costs on the fabrication of CsPbBr₃ PeNCs by the conventional hot injection (HI) route and the alternative microwave-assisted (MW) approach. Morphological, structural, and optical characterization confirms the high quality of both sets of NCs, although minor differences are detected. The MW route significantly reduces impacts at the laboratory scale due to its superior energy efficiency. However, at the industrial scale, both routes exhibit similar energy efficiencies, making the environmental comparison less conclusive. Additionally, n-dodecane (DOD) is explored as an alternative solvent for PeNC synthesis, with its recovery via distillation successfully demonstrated. While DOD recovery reduces solvent consumption, the lower reaction yield results in a higher overall environmental impact. The MW ODE method currently offers the lowest total costs, primarily due to reduced labor expenses. Advancing the MW method with DOD to achieve yields comparable to HI could represent a breakthrough for sustainable PeNCs synthesis.