Bio-Based Materials in Modern Photovoltaic Cells: From Active Layers and Interfaces to Encapsulants and Substrates

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Engineering notes will be added by the Power for Solar editorial team.

Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为光伏效率、钙钛矿太阳能电池、储能技术、太阳能热利用、BIPV、并网技术等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

Modern photovoltaic technologies are increasingly evaluated not only in terms of power conversion efficiency and cost, but also with respect to resource origin, toxicity, recyclability, and overall life-cycle impacts. Within this broader sustainability framework, bio-based and bio-inspired materials derived from biomass or mimicking biological structures have emerged as promising candidates for a wide range of photovoltaic components, including active layers, interfacial modifiers, substrates, encapsulants, and natural dyes. This review provides a layer-by-layer overview of such materials implemented or proposed in dye-sensitized, organic, perovskite, biohybrid, and silicon solar cells, linking their molecular structures and optoelectronic properties to representative device performances and key degradation pathways. Cross-cutting challenges related to moisture and thermal stability, barrier performance, feedstock variability, and the risk of “greenwashing” are highlighted, emphasizing that sustainability claims must be supported by quantitative metrics such as life-cycle assessment, circularity indicators, and durability studies. Finally, we outline promising research directions in molecular engineering, hybrid biosynthetic architectures, and advanced encapsulation concepts that could enable bio-based materials to make a meaningful contribution to low-impact photovoltaic technologies.

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