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In Situ Synthesis and Integration of Polymer Electrolytes in Nanostructured Electrodes for Photovoltaic Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2011

Siamak Nejati  and
Kenneth K. S. Lau
Siamak Nejati
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, U.S.A.
Kenneth K. S. Lau
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, U.S.A.
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Abstract

The conventional dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is limited by the use of a liquid electrolyte that is prone to leakage and evaporation. Efforts to replace the liquid with a solid equivalent have been met with difficulties in penetrating the mesoporous TiO2 nanostructured photoanode with liquid processing, particularly for photoanode layer thickness greater than 2 μm. Here, initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) is successfully applied to directly synthesize and fill the pores of the mesoporous TiO2 network of up to 12 μm thickness with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) polymer electrolyte. Comparing with equivalent liquid electrolyte cells, DSSCs integrated with PHEMA polymer electrolyte showed consistently higher open circuit voltage, which is attributed to a decrease in electron recombination with the redox couple at the electrode-electrolyte interface.

Keywords

chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (deposition)photovoltaicpolymer
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1312: Symposium HH/II/JJ – Polymer-Based Materials and Composites—Synthesis, Assembly and Applications , 2011 , mrsf10-1312-ii07-09
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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