Employment of ionic liquid-imbibed polymer gel electrolyte for efficient quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Volatility of organic solvent in liquid electrolyte has been tremendous obstacle for its application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), here we designed an ionic liquid-imbibed polymer gel electrolyte using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]CI) as solvent, 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (MPII) as iodine source, and amphiphilic poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate/glycerol) [poly(HEMA/GR)] as a placeholder. As an amphiphilic matrix, poly(HEMA/GR) material can swell in ionic liquid electrolyte to form a stable gel, benefiting from its extraordinary absorption. The imbibed ionic liquid electrolyte is stored into interconnected poly(HEMA/GR) framework. Resultant quasi-solid-state electrolyte is honored with high ionic conductivity (14.29 mS cm(-1)) at room temperature and good retention. The ionic liquid-imbibed poly(HEMA/GR) gel electrolyte-based DSSC gives an overall light-to-electric conversion efficiency of 7.15%. The new concept along with easy fabrication promises the ionic liquid-imbibed gel electrolytes good alternatives in efficient DSSCs. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.