Addition of Pyridine to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Including Fluorinated Oligomer Gel Electrolyte

Abstract

Fluorinated oligomer gel is suitable to the electrolyte of dye-sensitized solar cell for low cost production. In this article, addition of pyridine was investigated for the purpose of enhancing the short current density. Two kinds of ionic liquids were tested: imidazolium and pyrazolium systems. The two different stages of adding pyridine to the electrolyte were considered and the amount of pyridine was studied. It was found that the electrolyte including pyrazolium ionic liquids to which pyridine was added before the mixing with fluorinated oligomer showed the highest electric conductivity, short current density and open voltage. This resulted in the highest conversion efficiency of 4%. As the amount of pyridine increased, the fill factor and the open voltage were improved at first, and then the short current density increased. If the pyridine was added more, the short current density conversely decreased.