Abstract
Printable electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are prepared using a low volatile solvent, gamma-butyrolactone (gBL). Various polymers including polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polyacrylonotrile (PAN), and poly(acrylonitrile-co-vinylacetate) (PAN-VA) are used to regulate the viscosity of the electrolytes. The results show that PAN is the best polymer interms of viscosity, conductivity, and performance of the DSSCs. Increasing the concentration of PAN increases the viscosity of the electrolyte paste, which is advantageous to the operation of a printing process but decreases the electrolyte conductivity and cell performance. This drawback can be compensated by introducing of TiO2 or TiC nanofillers. The quasi-solid-state DSSC prepared using a printing process achieves a conversion efficiency (7.85%) similar to that of the corresponding liquid cell (7.87%). The stability test shows that the presence of TiO2 nanofillers triggers a gradual desorption of dye, decreasing DSSC performance. However, this problem does not appear for the electrolyte using TiC nanofillers, with cell efficiency retaining 96% of its initial value after a 500 h test.
Published Version
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