Innovation in compound semiconductors and optoelectronics: structural limits and pathways to sustainability and circularity

Compound semiconductors are increasingly used in electronics and optoelectronic technologies, but their manufacturing, processing, and disposal have significant environmental and resource costs. As the worldwide demand for photonics, sensing, and high-performance electronic devices grows, sustainability and circularity have evolved from peripheral issues to structural constraints. This Topical Review covers recent breakthroughs in materials design, semiconductor production, electronic waste recycling, and life-cycle assessment for optoelectronic and compound semiconductor systems. Emerging solutions such as organic and biodegradable electronics, recyclable substrates, and dissolvable packaging are compared to process-level efforts to lower energy, water, and chemical intensity during manufacturing. Crucially, examination of real-world e-waste systems demonstrates that end-of-life recovery of III–V semiconductors remain highly limited under current industrial recycling infrastructures, resulting in substantial dissipation of critical elements across waste streams. The issues addressed in this review align directly with UN Sustainable Development Goals SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), with proposed strategies intended to advance circularity and resource efficiency without compromising broader development objectives. These findings indicate that meaningful circularity must be achieved primarily through upstream material selection, process redesign, and life-cycle-informed system strategies, rather than relying on downstream recycling alone.