Abstract
Polymer gel electrolytes based on poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) (PAB) or poly(dimethylsiloxane) bis(3-aminopropyl)-terminated (PDES-bAP) copolymers were prepared and investigated in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Selected optical and electrochemical properties of all compositions with various ratio from 9:1 to 6:4 were investigated towards DSSC applications. The highest value of power conversion efficiency equal to 5.07% was found for DSSCs containing a PVDF-HPF:PAB (9:1) gel electrolyte. Compositions of electrolytes were additionally tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The influence of the ratio and type of polymers used as an additive to PVDF-HPF on absorption wavelengths, energy gap, and Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) levels were investigated. Individual components of DSSCs, such as the TiO2 layer and platinum nanoparticles, were imaged by scanning electron microscope. Finally, a DSSC module with six electrically separated solar cells with a 7 × 80 mm2 active area was constructed based on gel electrolytes and tested.
Highlights
As a consequence of the rapid rise in the use of electronic devices, the consumption of world power has accelerated as well
We investigated eight polymer compositions based on poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) (PAB) or poly(dimethylsiloxane) bis(3-aminopropyl)-terminated (PDES-bAP) copolymers towards application in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs)
It is important that the polymeric components of gel electrolytes should possess the absorbance out of the range of dye used in DSSCs
Summary
As a consequence of the rapid rise in the use of electronic devices, the consumption of world power has accelerated as well. Since fluorine has a smaller ionic radius and high electro negativity, PVDF-HFP is known to enhance the ionic conductivity [13] and is widely investigated as a main component of gel electrolytes Compositions, such as poly(ethylene oxide)-poly-(vinylidene fluoride) [21], poly(acrylonitrile) [15], poly(methyl acrylate) [22], or poly(methyl methacrylate) [4], were prepared and tested in quasi-solid state DSSCs. Among other polymers used as a component of solid electrolytes, poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene). We report an efficient organic polymer-based electrolyte prepared by poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) doped, to the best of our knowledge for the first time, with poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) (PAB) or poly(dimethylsiloxane) bis(3-aminopropyl)-terminated (PDES-bAP) copolymers. We studied the influence of a new polymer composition on the gelling properties of electrolyte, its electrical properties, and the scaling-up of the single-cell device to a large area module system
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