In Situ Gelation of Electrolytes for Highly Efficient Gel‐State Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

By using poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate) as a gelator in an acetonitrile‐based liquid electrolyte, an in situ gelation of the liquid electrolyte can be performed inside the mesoporous matrix of TiO2 films. By introduction of TiO2 nanoparticles as fillers of the gel‐electrolyte, the energy conversion efficiency of a gel‐state dye‐sensitized solar cell can achieve a value higher than that of a liquid‐state cell.

Conductivity studies of poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend gel polymer electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells

“…On the other hand, SPE can overcome the evaporation and leakage problems, but its demerit is having poor contact at the electrolyte/electrode interface, resulting in low efficiency [7]. GPE is currently the most promising substitution for SPE and conventional LE due to its properties such as good ionic conductivity, good interfacial filling property, good thermal stability, good long-term stability, ability to interact with the titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) electrode, does not leak easily, simple to prepare, and lower in price compared to ionic liquid [8,9].…”

Fabrication of Stable Dye Sensitized Solar Cell with Gel electrolytes Using Poly(ethylene oxide)-Poly(ethylene glycol)

“…In addition, to improve the interfacial properties and ionic conductivity of gel electrolytes, inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles such as TiO2 as fillers were incorporated within the PGEs and a photoconversion efficiency of 9.46% higher than that of liquid electrolyte was achieved [22]. Application of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a gelator for the liquid electrolyte is limited because of its high crystallinity and insulating nature [23]. However, it has the higher tendency for trapping the cationsof the electrolyte by the coordinative interaction of ether oxygen (-O-) of the polymer [24].…”

Enhancing the Efficiency and Charge Transport Characteristics of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Adding Graphene Nanosheets to TiO2 Working Electrodes

“…TiO 2 electrodes serve primarily as a path for photogenerated electron transport and are, therefore, essential to the DSSCs. In addition to providing a large surface area to facilitate dye adsorption, their porous composition enables permeation of the electrolyte solution [11][12][13]. Although wide-bandgap oxides other than TiO 2 (e.g., ZnO [14], SnO 2 [15], and Nb 2 O 5 [16]) can achieve the same function, TiO 2 yields the optimal performance.…”