Graphene oxide hydrogel electrolyte for improving the performance of electropolymerized polyaniline solar cells

In this proof-of-concept study, we reported the incorporation of a graphene oxide hydrogel (GO-gel) electrolyte as the cathode and the electropolymerized aniline (E-PANI) in situ on a titanium oxide (TiO2)-coated fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) as the anode in an organic solar cell (OSC) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were applied for characterization studies. The incorporation of GO-gel electrolyte within E-PANI significantly enhanced the power conversion efficiency (PCE) by 257.0% compared to the standard E-PANI solar cell with a liquid electrolyte. Under an AM 1.5 G (100 mW/cm(2)) illumination, the final OSC (FTO vertical bar TiO2/E-PANI/GO-gel-I-/I (3) over bar vertical bar Al) demonstrated an overall PCE of 4.35% with an open circuit voltage (V-oc) of 0.889 V and a short circuit current density (J(sc)) of 15.13 mA/cm(2). The photovoltaic properties were found to be superior to those of the previously reported E-PANI-based solar cells. Our preliminary results showed that the rheological properties, PCE and stability were significantly enhanced with the incorporation of GO-gel electrolyte. Thus, GO-gel electrolytes provide a promising platform for the development of high-efficiency photovoltaic devices in the near future.

Automated summary

In this study, the incorporation of graphene oxide hydrogel electrolyte in an organic solar cell was reported for the first time. The use of the GO-gel electrolyte significantly enhanced the power conversion efficiency compared to a standard solar cell with a liquid electrolyte.