Tunable Nanoporous Network Polymer Nanocomposites having Size-Selective Ion Transfer for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Nanoporous network polymer nanocomposites with tunable pore size for size-dependent selective ion transport are successfully prepared via the surface-induced cross-linking polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) on the surfaces of nanocrystalline TiO2 particles. The morphologies of the porous network polymer layer and nanopores were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and BrunauerEmmettTeller (BET) experiments. The porous layer size-selectively screened the ions that contacted the nanocrystalline TiO2 particles, as demonstrated by ion conductivity measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS).