Globe's very first organic photovoltaic cell made from recycled polypropylene

• The partners of the EU project FlexFunction2Sustain have committed themselves to create a network for ingenious solutions for lasting and also wise items powered by nano-functionalized paper and also plastic in order to support SMEs, startups and also sectors in the development and market launch of pioneering products.

After the first 2 years, a variety of encouraging results and prototypes have actually arised and also will certainly exist at the Conference for Industrial Technologies IndTech 2022 in Grenoble, France, June 27-- 29, 2022. Amongst them, a lately finalized emphasize: the first working organic photovoltaic cell on recycled plastics.

Recently, individuals from throughout the globe fulfilled at the Stockholm +50 Environment Summit and highlighted the necessity in moving forward rapidly with ecological and environment security measures. The littering of our earth and its seas is progressing inexorably. A primary chauffeur for plastic waste is packaging materials, which are required to extend the service life of food or to protect delicate items as well as drugs from destructive ecological impacts. In addition, wise packaging opens several new and also useful possibilities thanks to flexible electronics. In the future, short-life packaging materials for medications, as an example, will certainly be outfitted with flexible electronics to keep an eye on medication consumption or track delicate products during their distribution path.

Recycling of plastics and also utilizing recycled material for packaging is an important keystone when driving to greater environmental protection as well as decreasing plastic waste. To replace such composite and also multilayer materials that are not recyclable or degradable, novel polymer compositions (bio-based and/or biodegradable) and also adjusted product designs are being gone over as a remedy strategy. In clever packaging, the electronics have to likewise be taken into consideration in a more environmentally friendly way and, as an example, developed to be recyclable and also created by using recyclates. A variety of startups and ingenious companies have actually developed concepts for lasting flexible and also wise packaging products.

Collecting 19 partners from research study, colleges and also industry throughout Europe, FlexFunction2Sustain focuses on supporting small as well as medium-sized business in bringing innovative concepts and ideas for products based on nanofunctionalized plastic and paper surface areas and membranes to market. The FlexFunction2Sustain Network-- an Open Innovation Testbed (OITB) for nanofunctionalization technologies-- offers comprehensive solutions to support innovation, e. g. from material and item layout, technology and item growth, little set manufacturing to the sourcing of development funds.

Two years of FlexFunction2Sustain: What has emerged?

Throughout its initial two years, the consortium developed an organization which purpose is to framework and also manipulate the OITB member ´ s service portfolio. Thus, through this association the collaboration plans to deliver a simple, fast-track access to the OITB facilities and also solutions to SMEs, startups and market. To relieve the commercialization process, the consumer access to the OITB with a Single Entry Point (SEP) sales and also project administration entity. An SEP seeks advice from the customer in the selection of ideal technologies as well as works with all development job and communication with the OITB members for the customer. FlexFunction2Sustain will certainly establish regional contact indicate supply the very best possible individual experience and to bring the OITB to the entire European single market.

First models of novel, eco-friendly plastic and also paper items were prepared and examined within different industrial usage instance situations. These consisted of recyclable/compostable food and also cosmetic packaging, membranes for water filters and also diagnostics, clever plastic surfaces for vehicle application, and biodegradable safety and security as well as anti-counterfeiting labels.

Project planner Dr. John Fahlteich summarize: "We are proud to offer the initial functioning organic photovoltaic cell (OPV) on a recycled polypropylene substrate in addition to a whole variety of modern technology demonstrators at IndTech 2022 end of June in Grenoble, France." Besides the OPV cell, several innovative item concepts will be shown including:-- completely recyclable drink pouches,-- optical functions on biodegradable film,-- ingenious fresh food packaging made from semi-transparent paper-- membrane based syringe filters for diagnostics and also water filter applications.

Dr. Fahlteich proceeds: "At IndTech, FlexFunction2Sustain is installed in a committed section of the exhibit offering the innovations and also solutions of 13 various Open Innovation Testbeds attending to a selection of modern technologies as well as applications ranging from biomaterials to nano-enabled surface areas in the direction of eco-friendly as well as power reliable solutions for constructing envelopes. A wide profile of innovation remedies awaits SME as well as industry on website. We are expecting trading suggestions and initiating projects with future companions from SME, Start-Ups and also market."

World's first organic photovoltaic cell on recycled polypropylene

The project partners Fraunhofer IVV and IPC Centre Technique Industriel de la Plasturgie et des Composites used recycled polypropylene (rPP)-- recovered from a newly created packaging material for recyclable drink pouches-- blended with virgin polyproypylene (vPP) to produce a substrate film for published electronics at a recyclate web content of 50%.

At Fraunhofer FEP, a clear electrode-- made of indium tin oxide (ITO)-- was used using roll-to-roll (R2R) vacuum coating with magnetron sputtering with a particularly adjusted collection of process as well as winding parameters. The result goes over, because regardless of the recyclates made use of in the substrate, the ITO displayed almost the same sheet resistance as achieved on pristine film substrates.

Organic Electronics Technologies P.C. (OET) in Greece then executed R2R slot-die coating to produce OPV cells, adhered to by an encapsulation step over the printing of the organic materials and the finalization of the OPV cells. Below, OET's researchers executed a number of tests on the coating specifications and also lastly succeeded in printing the functional OPV layers on the PP substrate made with 50% rPP recovered from drink pouch packaging material. Therefore, the OPV was demonstrated to operate as a device with a max effectiveness of 1%.

OET's project manager Vasileios Kyriazopoulos: "The power conversion efficiency of approx. 1% is currently adequate to supply a vast array of single-use smart packaging productions with sufficient electrical power. Currently, OPV cells on commercially available substrates can attain effectiveness above 8%, as a result, by enhancing the whole construction procedure, including film extrusion, layer design, printing as well as encapsulation, it is possible to increase the performance of OPV cells printed on recyclable material, which is made with 50% rPP, by more than 5%.".

This stands for an initial major step in the advancement of even more environmentally friendly item styles and also flexible electronics. In the future, products such as clever packaging, but likewise interactive magazines in the field of advertising and marketing or customer electronics can be created based upon these first growths. Thanks to flexible electronics such as an OPV cell on recycled material, tomorrow's items will be powered a little much more environmentally friendly.

Of course, the preliminary results just point the way ahead. In the future, the FlexFunction2Sustain consortium will certainly work with boosting the extrusion procedure for the recycled film. On top of that, the development of a new layer design for improved surface quality gets on the schedule. The OPV procedure likewise holds possible for improving drying temperatures as well as encapsulation techniques. Completely resulting in the perspective of getting to similar performances of flexible electronics as done on pristine, fossil-based plastic films.