Journal
CELLULOSE
Volume 28, Issue 9, Pages 5545-5557Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10570-021-03854-2
Keywords
Phthaloyl starch; Hydroxyethyl cellulose; Rheology; Quasi-solid electrolyte; Dye-sensitized solar cell
Funding
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia [RFA 1]
- King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [RSP-2020/34]
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The intrinsic adhesive properties of starch and cellulose were used to enhance the performance of electrolytes in DSSC. Chemical modification and addition of ionic liquids were effective in improving the efficiency of the quasi-solid DSSC.
Starch and cellulose have long been used in various industrial applications as gelating agents. In this work, the intrinsic adhesive properties of these biopolymers are exploited for application as electrolytes in DSSC. Firstly, potato starch was chemically modified into phthaloyl starch in a facile esterification process. Fabrication of polymer electrolyte with phthaloyl starch (PhSt) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) incorporated with dimethylformamide and tetrapropylammonium iodide produced homogeneous gels with diminished crystallinity. Infusion of different weight percentages of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide (BMII) into the gels were revealed to further suppress polymer crystallinity and elevate ionic conductivity. Rheological analysis revealed that addition of up to 6 wt% of ionic liquid aid in elevating the rigidity, strength and tackiness of the gels. The improved adhesiveness of the gels can be correlated to effective reduction of interfacial resistance and restraining of recombination reactions based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Quasi-solid DSSC fabricated with PhSt-HEC with 8 wt% of BMII exhibited enhanced short-circuit current density, J(SC) and fill factor, contributing to an optimized efficiency of 5.20%. Graphic abstract
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