A Review on Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Significant growth has been observed in the research domain of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) due to the simplicity in its manufacturing, low cost, and high-energy conversion efficiency. The electrolytes in DSSCs play an important role in determining the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs, e.g., volatile liquid electrolytes suffer from poor thermal stability. Although low volatility liquid electrolytes and solid polymer electrolytes circumvent the stability issues, gel polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and enduring stability are stimulating substitutes for liquid electrolytes in DSSC. In this review paper, the advantages of gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are discussed along with other types of electrolytes, e.g., solid polymer electrolytes and p-type semiconductor-based electrolytes. The benefits of incorporating ionic liquids into GPEs are highlighted in conjunction with the factors that affect the ionic conductivity of GPEs. The strategies on the improvement of the properties of DSSCs based on GPE are also presented.

Supercapacitor using polyvinyl alcohol doped ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium hexafluorophosphate polymer electrolyte system

“…where i is the current and t ion is the transference number. 5,17 The most conducting PE system's computed value of t ion using the provided equation was 0.979, indicating that the system is exclusively ionic in composition.…”

“…Using polymer electrolytes moderately priced devices can be made and their manufacturing is not difficult. Polymers are generally insulating materials but they can be made conducting by introducing ionic inorganic salts, ionic liquids (IL), nanofillers, and so forth 4,5 …”

Hybrid polymer gels for energy applications

“…Very recently Jana and coworkers published a review article on DSSCs highlighting some uses of GPE increasing the stability of the devices along with polymer and semiconductor electrolytes. 51…”

“…Very recently Jana and coworkers published a review article on DSSCs highlighting some uses of GPE increasing the stability of the devices along with polymer and semiconductor electrolytes. 51 It is necessary to mention the merits and demerits of PGEs compared to the use of LEs in DSSC. As discussed above, the LEs exhibit higher PCE values compared to those of PGEs due to the lower diffusion rate of charges in PGEs for the high viscosity of the medium, through which charges do not easily come in contact with the electrodes.…”

Molecular Engineering of Photosensitizers for Solid‐State Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: Recent Developments and Perspectives

“…In conventional DSSCs, the electrolyte plays two key roles: photosensitizer regeneration and transporting holes [58] . Typically, liquid electrolytes are commonly used in DSSC applications [59,60] . These electrolytes consist of three elements: a solvent, a redox system (ionic conductor), and multiple additives [61,62] .…”