THIS PROJECT WILL: • DEVELOP REVERSIBLY CROSS-LINKING INTERLAYER POLYMERS (RECLIPS) WITH CHEMICAL, OPTICAL, ELECTRICAL, AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES TUNED TO INTERFACE FAVORABLY WITH COMMERCIAL ENCAPSULANTS AND PV CELLS • DEMONSTRATE THE RECOVERY OF SI PV CELLS FROM A RECLIP PACKAGE UPON TRANSIENT ENERGY INPUTS AFTER ACCELERATED AGING OF THE PACKAGE BY EXPOSURE TO DAMP HEAT AND THERMAL CYCLING • IDENTIFY MINIMUM THICKNESSES OF THE RECLIP REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL “UNZIPPING” OF LAMINATED PACKAGES TO REDUCE MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ABSORBER-AGNOSTIC RECLIP WILL FACILITATE MATERIALS SEPARATION TO IMPROVE END-OF-LIFE HANDLING ACROSS PV AND ENABLE ENERGY- AND COST-EFFICIENT RECOVERY OF COMPONENT MATERIALS AT END-OF-LIFE. BECAUSE OF ITS REVERSIBILITY, THE RECLIP OFFERS NOT ONLY A PATH TO FACILE RECOVERY OF VALUABLE CELL COMPONENTS, IT MAY ALSO OFFER FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACTIVELY REPAIR OR REPLACE CELLS IN STRINGS OR TANDEM ARCHITECTURES.