Influence of various ionic liquids embedded electrospun polymer membrane electrolytes on the photovoltaic performance of DSSC

Abstract

The influence of various ionic liquids such as 1,3-dimethyl imidazolium iodide (DMImI), 1-propyl-3-methyl imidazolium iodide (PMImI), 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium iodide (BMImI) and 1-hexyl-3-methyl imidazolium iodide (HMImI) embedded electrospun PVdF-HFP membrane electrolytes (esPMEs) on the photovoltaic performances of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were investigated. The influence of alkyl chain length of imidazolium and the concentration of ionic liquid electrolytes on the charge diffusion and electron transport kinetics were investigated by electrochemical impedance and Tafel polarization studies. Among the DSSCs fabricated with esPME of various ionic liquids, DSSC with 0.5M BMImI-esPME exhibited highest photoconversion efficiency of 7.08% with excellent long-term stability.