Novel Polymer Gel Electrolyte with Organic Solvents
for Quasi-Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
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Abstract
A cross-linked
copolymer was previously synthesized from poly(oxyethylene)
diamine (POE-amine) and an aromatic anhydride and cured to generate
an amide-imide cross-linking structure. The copolymer containing several
chemical groups such as POE, amido acids, and imide, enabled to absorb
liquid electrolytes in methoxypropionitrile (MPN) for suitable uses
in dye-sensitized solar cells. To establish the advantages of polymer
gel electrolytes (PGE), the same copolymer was studied by using different
electrolyte solvents including propylene carbonate (PC), dimethylformamide,
and <i>N</i>-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and shown their long-term
stability. The morphology of the copolymer after absorbing liquid
electrolytes in these solvents was proven the same as a 3D interconnected
nanochannels, evidenced field emission-scanning electron microscopy.
Among these solvents, PC was selected as the optimized PGE, which
demostrated a higher power conversion efficiency (8.31%) than that
of the liquid electrolyte (7.89%). In particular, the long-term stability
of only a 5% decrease in the cell efficiency after 1000 h of testing
was achieved. It was proven the developed copolymer as PGE was versatile
for different solvents showing high efficiency and long-term durability