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In situ Poly(methyl methacrylate)/Graphene Composite Gel Electrolytes for Highly Stable Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Kang Yuil,
Moon Jun Hyuk
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201500654
Subject(s) - dye sensitized solar cell , graphene , electrolyte , methyl methacrylate , materials science , chemical engineering , poly(methyl methacrylate) , composite number , thermal stability , polymer , electrode , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , copolymer , composite material , engineering
Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with long‐term stability are produced using polymer‐gel electrolytes (PGEs). In this study, we introduce the formation of PGEs using in situ gelation with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles and graphene fillers that are pre‐deposited on the counter electrodes. We obtain a high concentration PMMA‐based PGEs (i.e., over 10 wt %). A DSC composed of a PMMA/graphene composite PGEs exhibits an 8.49 % photon‐to‐electric conversion efficiency, which is comparable to conventional liquid electrolyte DSCs. This finding is attributed to increased ion diffusivity and conductivity of the PMMA‐based PGEs resulting from the incorporation of graphene nanofillers. The PMMA‐based PGE DSCs exhibit highly stable long‐term efficiencies, maintaining up to 90 % of their initial efficiency during thermal soaking, whereas the efficiencies of liquid electrolyte cells decrease significantly, by up to 60 %.