Efficiency and Stability Enhancement of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell using PEO Polymer Gel and Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Electrolyte

A dramatic improvement in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) performance and stability has beenachieved by using polyethylene oxide (PEO) as an additive to organic liquid electrolyte containing 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide (PMImI). The high efficient with long lifetime is strongly relatedto the chemical composition of electrolyte. Comparison to non-polymeric system, the ionic liquidelectrolyte containing 10 wt. % PEO has shown a greater short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc),consequently light-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η). Photoelectrochemical performance ofDSSC based PEO-PMImI electrolyte boosts by a factor of 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 on the 1st, 7th, and 15th dayof measurement, respectively. The advantage of PEO-PMImI electrolyte for the photovoltaicperformance may stem from an increase of ionic conductivity and a decrease of interfacial resistance.The role of PEO to the lifetime of the photoelectrochemical cell could be explained in terms ofviscosity.