Influence of polypyrrole incorporated electrospun poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanofibrous composite membrane electrolyte on the photovoltaic performance of dye sensitized solar cell

Abstract

Electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) nanofibrous composite membranes (esCPMs) incorporated with various wt% of polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles (1, 2, 3 and 4 wt%) were prepared by electrospinning technique for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. The surface morphology, crystallinity, porosity and electrolyte uptake of the prepared esCPMs were examined. The esCPMs were soaked in an ionic liquid electrolyte containing 0.5 M LiI, 0.05 M I2, 0.5 M 4-tert butyl pyridine and 0.5 M 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide in acetonitrile to get electrospun PVdF-HFP/PPy nanofibrous composite polymer membrane electrolytes (esCPMEs). The influences of PPy on ionic conductivity and electrocatalytic activity of esCPMEs were studied by electrochemical impedance and Tafel polarization measurements. The DSSC fabricated with esCPME (2 wt% PPy) had the photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.02% at 100 mW cm-2, which was higher than that fabricated with the conventional electrospun PVdF-HFP membrane electrolyte (esPME).