Novel photosensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cell based on ionic liquid–doped blend polymer electrolyte

Abstract

The existing energy situation demands not only the huge energy in a short time but also clean energy. In this regard, an integrated photo-supercapacitor device has been fabricated in which photoelectric conversion and energy storage are achieved simultaneously. A novel carbazole-based dye is synthesized and characterized for photosensitizer. The silver-doped titanium dioxide (Ag-TiO2) is synthesized, and it is used as photoanode material. Different concentrations of tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI)-doped polyvinyl alcohol–polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVA-PVP) blend polymer electrolytes are prepared, and their conductivity and dielectric properties were studied. Reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) is synthesized by a one-pot synthesis method and confirmed using Raman spectroscopy for counter electrode material in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and supercapacitor electrodes. The DSSC having 4% Ag-TiO2–based photoanode showed the highest efficiency of 1.06% (among r-GO counter electrodes) and 2.37% (among platinum counter electrodes). The supercapacitor before integration and after integration exhibits specific capacitance of 1.72 Fg−1 and 1.327 Fg−1, respectively.

The improved performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells using co‐sensitization and polymer gel electrolyte

“…The TiO 2 and platinum (Pt) coated electrode coating methods were carried out in accordance with the technique reported in the literature 43 . For the mono sensitized device, the TiO 2 coated electrode was dipped in CDIB (0.5 mM) or Z907 (0.5 mM) in 1:1 ratio of tetrahydrofuran/ethanol for 24 hours and then washed with ethanol to remove any unattached dyes.…”

“…The TiO 2 and platinum (Pt) coated electrode coating methods were carried out in accordance with the technique reported in the literature. 43 For the mono sensitized device, the TiO 2 coated electrode was dipped in CDIB (0.5 mM) or Z907 (0.5 mM) in 1:1 ratio of tetrahydrofuran/ethanol for 24 hours and then washed with ethanol to remove any unattached dyes. For the cosensitization devices, the titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) coated electrodes were dipped in Z907 (0.5 mM) in 1:1 ratio of tetrahydrofuron/ethanol solutions for 24 hours, washed with ethanol, and then immersed in CDIB (0.5 mM) solutions for 6 hours.…”

“…Because of these limitations, researchers attracted towards the metal-free organic dyes for the DSSCs which have the advantages like easier design synthesis of organic dye, cheap, efficient light-harvesting capabilities, and also its conversion efficiency is comparable to that of polypyridyl ruthenium dye. 28,29 Metal-free dyes can be modelled by introducing donor moieties like triarylamine, [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] carbazole, [37][38][39][40][41][42][43] and phenothiazine. [44][45][46][47][48][49][50] Maximum efficiency of 14.3% was noted in the DSSC which was constructed with carbazole-based LEG4 + ADEKA-1 as a sensitizer, Co 3+/2+ as a redox pair, and Au/GNP as a counter electrode.…”

The Effect of Addition of SnO2 Doping on The Electronic Structure of TiO2 Thin Film as Photo-Anode in DSSC Applications

“…However, anatase is mostly used due to its excellent stability and photoactivity. Additionally, TiO2 has proven as a fascinating material and has been used for many different applications in both gas sensors and DSSCs because of its biological, and chemical inertness, long-term stability against chemical and photo-corrosion One of the factors that are still a problem in the manufacture of DSSC solar cells is the use of electrolytes, both gels, and solutions, which have an important role in converting light energy into electrical energy in these solar cells [11]. Because the shape is generally in the form of a solution, many problems arise related to the use of electrolytes, such as leakage, evaporation, the possibility of corrosion of the center-electrode, and so on [12].…”

Synthesis and characterization of a new phenothiazine-based sensitizer/co-sensitizer for efficient dye-sensitized solar cell performance using a gel polymer electrolyte and Ni–TiO2as a photoanode

“…[10][11][12] Due to the scarcity and high cost of noble Ru metal, metalfree organic dyes were quickly developed, offering benefits such as simple molecular design, easy synthesis, fine-tuning of optical and electrochemical characteristics, a high molar extinction coefficient, and low cost. [13][14][15][16][17][18] Among various metalfree sensitizers, the phenothiazine (PTZ)-based dyes have piqued curiosity, and they have been used as a donor unit in the sensitizer structure, which has resulted in good photovoltaic performance because of their non-planarity and butterfly-like shape in the ground state, which reduces aggregation. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] More importantly, PTZ is a six member heterocyclic molecule that has a nitrogen and a sulphur atom, which act as powerful donors compared to other donor moieties such as triphenylamine and carbazole.…”