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| Materials | Causes |
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| CuO | Due to its strong solar absorption and moderate thermal emittance, it creates an effective absorbing layer. The endocrine and central neurological systems may be harmed. Skin or eye irritation might result from contact. |
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| CdSe, CdS | These increase the efficiency of solar cells. The effects of exposure to this include cancer, nausea, and respiratory and gastrointestinal pain. |
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| FeS2 | Using an acid bath or a smelting process to extract metals like indium, selenium, and gallium from materials. Acidic rock drainage and possibly acid rain result from the combination of sulfuric acid and water produced when sulphate from decaying pyrite is discharged. |
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| SnS | In n-type solar cells, the SnS absorption layer has a large band gap. It is not very hazardous to both people and the environment. |
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| Mg2Si | Due to its problems in crystal formation, magnesium silicide is generally utilized in thin film applications. |
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| CuInSe2 | In the absorber layer, CuInSe2 is employed. |
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| ZnSe | This buffer layer has demonstrated total area efficiencies of up to 9.6%, an open circuit, a fill factor of up to 64%, voltage of 482 mV, and a short circuit current of 31.0 mA/cm2 under AM 1.5 illumination. |
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| MnS | MnS is a window/buffer layer found in PV cells that is a weak magnetic semiconductor. Manganese produces disruption in the plant’s mechanism when it enters the soil. The distribution of hydrogen and oxygen in the planet’s atmosphere is disturbed. |
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| Crystalline silicon (c-Si) | Silane gas, which is used to create crystalline silicon, produces poisonous waste in the form of silicon tetrachloride. It has the potential to be harmful but can be recycled into additional silane gas. |
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| GaAs | If left in landfills, crystals will leak arsine or arsenic. Arsenic is extremely poisonous and cancer-causing. GaAs may have significant impacts on the blood, liver, immunological, and respiratory systems, according to the scant toxicological information available. There is no way to recycle. |
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| Sulphur hexafluoride | The reactor used to produce silicon is cleaned using sulphur hexafluoride. If it leaked, it would be a potent greenhouse gas. Additionally, it can combine with silicon to form a variety of different compounds. SF6 is a chemical that is 22,800 times more environmentally harmful than CO2 according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. |
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