Phase inversion process to prepare quasi-solid-state electrolyte for the dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

A quasi-solid-state electrolyte for the dye-sensitized solar cells was prepared following the phase inversion process. The microporous polymer electrolyte based on poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) hybrid with different amount of TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared. The surface morphologies, the differential scanning calorimetry, and the ionic conductivity of the microporous polymer electrolyte were tested and analyzed. The results indicated that the microporous polymer electrolyte with TiO2 nanoparticles modification exhibited better ionic conductivity compared with the original P(VDF-HFP) polymer electrolyte. The optimal ionic conductivity of 0.8 mS cm−1 is obtained with the 30 wt % TiO2 nanoparticles modification. When assembled with the 30 wt % TiO2 nanoparticles modified quasi-solid-state electrolyte, the dye-sensitized TiO2 nanocrystalline solar cell exhibited the light to electricity conversion efficiency of 2.465% at light intensity of 42.6 mW cm−2, much better than the performance of original P(VDF-HFP) microporous polymer electrolyte DSSC. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008