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Polyacrylonitrile polymer electrolyte based photoelectrochemical cells have been fabricated with ruthenium bipyridyl complex as the sensitizer using porous films of SnO 2 /ZnO composite and also TiO 2 films. The redox component of the electrolyte is XI + I 2 , where X + ) Cs + , K + , Na + , Li + , or tetrabutylammonium ion. For both types of cells (SnO 2 /ZnO and TiO 2 ) highest short-circuit photocurrents and efficiencies are obtained when X ) Cs and in all cases these parameters were higher for the cells made from SnO 2 /ZnO. Results are explained as originating from the dependence of the mobility of Iin the polymer electrolyte on nature of the cation X + and the necessity of wide separation of photogenerated electron and the resulting dye cation to overcome the diffusion-controlled kinetics of Itransport.

Construction of a dye-sensitized solid-state solar cell with the semiconductor 4CuBr 3S(C4H9)2 as the hole collector is reported. The cell is unusually stable compared to dye-sensitized solid state cells reported previously and delivers a short-circuit photocurrent and an open-circuit voltage of ∼4.3 mA cm−2 and 400 mV respectively, at 1.5 air mass, 1000 W m−2 sunlight.

Novel, volatile solvent free, solid-state solar cells were fabricated with mesoporous TiO2 electrodes sensitized using thiophene derivatives containing carboxyl groups and in situ electropolymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) as a hole-transporting material together with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfone)imide as additives for charge transport promotion.