Lignin-Based Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Sustainable Aqueous Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

In the quest for sustainable materials for quasi-solid-state (QS) electrolytes in aqueous dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), novel bioderived polymeric membranes were prepared in this work by reaction of preoxidized kraft lignin with poly(ethylene glycol)diglycidylether (PEGDGE). The effect of the PEGDGE/lignin relative proportions on the characteristics of the obtained membranes was thoroughly investigated, and clear structure–property correlations were highlighted. In particular, the glass transition temperature of the materials was found to decrease by increasing the amount of PEGDGE in the formulation, indicating that polyethylene glycol chains act as flexible segments that increase the molecular mobility of the three-dimensional polymeric network. Concurrently, their swelling ability in liquid electrolyte was found to increase with the concentration of PEGDGE, which was also shown to influence the ionic transport efficiency within the membrane. The incorporation of these lignin-based cross-linked systems as QS electrolyte frameworks in aqueous DSSCs allowed the preparation of devices with excellent long-term stability under UV–vis light, which were found to be superior to benchmark QS-DSSCs incorporating state-of-the-art carboxymethylcellulose membranes. This study provides the first demonstration of lignin-based QS electrolytes for stable aqueous DSSCs, establishing a straightforward strategy to exploit the potential of lignin as a functional polymer precursor for the field of sustainable photovoltaic devices.

Crosslinked Sulfonated Polyphenylsulfone (CSPPSU) Membranes for Elevated-Temperature PEM Water Electrolysis

“…The development of renewable energy utilization technologies that do not emit CO 2 and use sustainable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and biomass, is underway. Research on energy storage, conversion, and utilization technologies, such as batteries [1][2][3], solar cells [4], fuel cells [5], and water electrolysis [6] is being actively conducted to efficiently utilize these energies. Moreover, hydrogen, which has a high energy density, can be produced from renewable energy sources, fossil fuel reforming, industrial process byproducts, biomass, water electrolysis, etc., and is suitable for energy storage systems [7][8][9].…”

Ionic Liquid in Phosphoric Acid-Doped Polybenzimidazole (PA-PBI) as Electrolyte Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells: A Review

“…Hydrogel electrolytes that are alkali-tolerant have been widely used in next-generation alkaline energy devices [28]. Preoxidized kraft lignin and poly(ethylene glycol)diglycidyether (PEGDGE) crosslinking reactions have been constructed, studied and used as quasi solidstate (QS) electrolytes in aqueous dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices, which showed a straightforward strategy for the field of sustainable photovoltaic devices [29]. The core double shell photocatalyst was a promising, magnetically separable and stable photocatalyst for long-term practical applications of photo oxidation [30].…”

Interface properties of CsPbBr$_3$ /CsPbI$_3$ perovskite heterostructure for solar cell

“…Because of the superior optical properties of CsPbX 3 (X=Cl, Br, I), it has potential application in the area of Light Emitting Diode (LED), photodetectors, laser, dye solar cells etc [14][15][16][17]. The most recent generation of solar cells are mainly consists of polymer based dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) [18][19][20][21], organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) [22], organic polymer PSCs [23], photoelectrochromic devices [24]. But, the metal halide perovskites (MHPs) is a subject of increasing interest because of its marvellous photophysical properties [25].…”