Influence of ionic pretreatment on the performance of solid electrolyte dye-sensitized solar cells

摘要

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were manufactured with liquid iodine/iodide electrolyte solution in acetonitrile and a solid electrolyte based on plasticized poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). Two types of titania electrodes manufactured from two-ingredient precursors were used to assess the efficacy of the solid electrolyte and the improvement produced by two chemical treatments. Solid electrolyte devices with a liquid electrolyte pretreatment applied to the electrolyte-oxide interface demonstrated improved photovoltaic performance compared to untreated solid electrolyte devices and solid electrolyte devices given an electrode-bulking sol treatment. Devices using electrodes made from hydrothermally synthesized titanate nanotubes resulted in lower performance than those made from the typically-used titania nanopowder, with significant performance loss resulting from the substitution of solid for liquid electrolyte, indicating the critical dependence of performance on electrolyte infiltration into the oxide layer.