High-Performance Quasi-Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Based on an Electrospun PVdF−HFP Membrane Electrolyte

• Published in: Langmuir 2008-09, Vol.24 (17), p.9816-9819
• Main Authors: Priya, A. R. Sathiya, Subramania, A, Jung, Young-Sam, Kim, Kang-Jin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemistry; Colloidal state and disperse state; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Materials: Nano-and Mesostructured Materials, Polymers, Gels, Liquid Crystals, Composites; Membranes; Surface physical chemistry
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/la801375s

An electrospun membrane was prepared from a 16 wt % solution of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF−HFP) in a mixture of acetone/N,N-dimethylacetamide (7:3 wt %) at an applied voltage of 12 kV. It was then activated by immersing it in 0.6 M 1-hexyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium iodide, 0.1 M LiI, 0.05 M I2, and 0.5 M 4-tert-butylpyridine in ethylene carbonate/propylene carbonate (1:1 wt %) to obtain the corresponding membrane electrolyte with an ionic conductivity of 10−5 S cm−1 at 25 °C. On the basis of this electrospun membrane electrolyte, quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated, which showed an open-circuit voltage (V oc) of 0.76 V, a fill factor of 0.62, and a short-circuit current density (J sc) of 15.57 mA cm−2 at an incident light intensity of 100 mW cm−2. This yields a light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 7.3%. Moreover, this cell possessed better long-term stability than that fabricated with conventional liquid electrolyte.