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In a 2014 laboratory study, researchers replaced cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) with magnesium chloride (MgCl₂) in a post-growth treatment for cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells. The MgCl₂-treated cells reached efficiencies comparable to the study’s CdCl₂-treated controls, while avoiding CdCl₂ in that manufacturing step. This can reduce a specific manufacturing exposure; it does not make CdTe solar cells or finished panels cadmium-free.
What was substituted—and at what stage?
CdTe thin-film cells are made from a cadmium-containing semiconductor. After the CdTe layer is grown, a chloride activation treatment helps prepare the material for photovoltaic operation. In the conventional process described by the researchers, that treatment uses cadmium chloride (CdCl₂).
J. D. Major, R. E. Treharne, L. J. Phillips, and K. Durose tested magnesium chloride (MgCl₂) in the existing fabrication approach as a substitute for CdCl₂. Their 2014 paper reports that the treatment supports formation of the photovoltaic junction at the CdTe/CdS interface and passivates grain boundaries. The substitution is therefore a change to one process chemical—not a change that removes cadmium from the CdTe absorber itself. Nature, 2014
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In the authors’ laboratory comparison, MgCl₂-treated cells achieved efficiencies of around 13%, comparable to the CdCl₂-treated controls. The paper also reports an active-layer hole density of 9 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ for the cells discussed. These are results for the authors’ laboratory devices and process, not a benchmark for current commercial solar modules. Nature, 2014; PubMed record
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The substitution is specific: the researchers also tried sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl), and manganese chloride (MnCl₂). Those treatments introduced electrically active impurities that compromised performance. The finding does not mean any inexpensive chloride salt can replace CdCl₂.
Why does the substitution matter for toxicity?
The paper describes CdCl₂ as water-soluble and a source of toxic cadmium ions, creating risks to workers and the environment during manufacturing. It describes MgCl₂ as non-toxic. Replacing CdCl₂ can therefore reduce cadmium exposure and environmental risk associated with this particular treatment step. The result does not establish that the finished product is harmless across its full lifecycle, or that it contains no cadmium: CdTe itself contains cadmium.
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What do later studies add?
A 2017 follow-up reported comparable or slightly higher device parameters for MgCl₂-activated samples in its own experiments, along with less variation in efficiency values. Those results provide additional laboratory evidence under a different study’s devices and process; they do not prove universal superiority or commercial-scale adoption. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2017
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Separate work on chloride treatments offers broader context for how activation can affect performance: effective treatments may improve open-circuit voltage through chlorine incorporation at grain boundaries, with associated gains in minority-carrier lifetime and junction carrier transport. That mechanism discussion does not show that every chloride or process produces the same effects. Nature Communications
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What the study does—and does not—establish
- Established: MgCl₂ was tested as a direct substitute for CdCl₂ in post-growth activation of CdTe thin-film cells, with comparable efficiency in the study’s laboratory comparison.
- Not established: That MgCl₂ is used commercially at scale, that it is superior in all fabrication processes, or that the substitution makes CdTe panels cadmium-free.
- Historical cost comparison: The authors reported prices of about 30 cents per gram for CdCl₂ and less than one cent per gram for MgCl₂ in 2014. These are the paper’s study-era figures, not current market prices. Nature, 2014
Major and co-authors summarized their finding this way: “Our results demonstrate that CdCl₂ may simply be replaced directly with MgCl₂ in the existing fabrication process, thus both minimizing the environmental risk and reducing the cost of CdTe solar-cell production.” That conclusion applies to the activation step and the study’s reported costs and devices, not to every environmental impact of CdTe solar technology. Nature, 2014
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