Quasi‐Solid‐State Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells Using Nanocomposite Gel Polymer Electrolytes Based on Poly(propylene carbonate)

Abstract

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) is synthesized from the copolymerization of CO 2 and propylene oxide. Novel nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are prepared by utilizing PPC, organic solvents containing a redox couple, and aluminum oxide nanoparticles for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The quasi-solid-state DSSC assembled with optimized nanocomposite GPEs exhibits a relatively high conversion effi ciency of 6.16% at 100 mW cm − 2 and better stability than DSSC with liquid electrolyte. as poly(acrylonitrile), [ 16 , 17 ] poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO), [18][19][20] and poly(vinylidene fl uoride-co-hexafl uoropropylene) (P(VdF-co -HFP)). [21][22][23][24] The DSSCs employing ternary component GPE based on PEO exhibited relatively high conversion of 7.2%. [ 20 ] Recently, Dai group has reported an excellent conversion effi ciency of 8.01% in quasi-solid-state DSSCs assembled with P(VdF-co -HFP)-based GPE containing liquid crystal under 1 Sun illumination. [ 24 ] However, reports about the photovoltaic performance of quasi-solid-state DSSCs assembled with new polymer materials are limited. In order to achieve high conversion effi ciency and stability of DSSCs, it is important to fi nd fairly stable polymer materials that are compatible with polar organic solvents in liquid electrolyte.Herein, we propose a novel nanocomposite GPE based on poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) for quasi-solid-state DSSCs. PPC is one of the synthetic polymers that utilize CO 2 as a direct starting material for polymer synthesis [ 25 ] ; thus, the use of PPC to fabricate quasi-solid-state DSSCs can be one of the most challenging subjects in the CO 2 fi xation fi eld. PPC is highly compatible with carbonatebased organic solvents presently used in DSSCs, because it contains a carbonate group in the backbone. Thus, it can hold liquid electrolytes very well and improve the interfacial contact between electrolyte and electrode, resulting in an enhancement of the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs. Moreover, PPC-based polymer electrolyte fi lms are transparent due to the amorphous nature of PPC, unlike PEO or P(VdF-co -HFP). In this work, high-molecular-weight

Fabrication and properties of polybutadiene rubber-interpenetrating cross-linking poly(propylene carbonate) network as gel polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion battery

“…PPC chains are an important component of GPE polymeric frameworks because they effectively solvate the ion salt and serve as a solvent gelator. [29][30][31] The cross-linking of BR not only enhances the elasticity and mechanical strength of the XBRPC polymeric framework, but also lower the production cost of the GPEs. Blending PEG with XBRPC precursors increases the compatibility of BR and PPC and forms composite lms with homogeneous structure.…”

Non-Volatile Polymer Electrolyte Based on Poly(propylene carbonate), Ionic Liquid, and Lithium Perchlorate for Electrochromic Devices

“…PPC has a similar structure to carbonate-based organic solvents presently used in conventional gel electrolytes, implying that it may have good compatibility with the lithium salts used in the gel electrolytes as well as offer good interfacial contact with commonly used electrodes in electrochemical devices. Compared with PEO and P(VdF- co -HFP), PPC-based electrolytes are highly transparent due to the amorphous nature of PPC . Moreover, unlike PMMA, the T g of PPC is very close to room temperature and hence can be turned into a rubbery state by incorporation of a small amount of IL, facilitating the motion of lithium ions in the polymer.…”

Synthesis and application of Fe 3 O 4 @nanocellulose/TiCl as a nanofiller for high performance of quasisolid‐based dye‐sensitized solar cells

“…Furthermore, it is found that J sc and η of the QS‐DSSCs are enhanced by introducing the Fe 3 O 4 @NCs/TiCl nanocomposite. Compared with other works in which different nanofilters and polymer networks are used, the system based on the novel Fe 3 O 4 @NCs/TiCl nanocomposite and PVAc polymeric network shows the significant improvement in J sc and η …”