Organosoluble Starch-Cellulose Binary Polymer Blend as a Quasi-Solid Electrolyte in a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2020
Abstract
This work is a pioneer attempt to fabricate quasi-solid dye-sensitized solar cell (QSDDSC) based on organosoluble starch derivative. Rheological characterizations of the PhSt-HEC blend based gels exhibited viscoelastic properties favorable for electrolyte fabrication. From amplitude sweep and tack test analyses, it was evident that the inclusion of LiI improved the rigidity and tack property of the gels. On the other hand, the opposite was true for TPAI based gels, which resulted in less rigid and tacky electrolytes. The crystallinity of the gels was found to decline with increasing amount of salt in both systems. The highest photoconversion efficiency of 3.94% was recorded upon addition of 12.5 wt % TPAI and this value is one of the highest DSSC performance recorded for starch based electrolytes. From electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), it is deduced that the steric hindrance imposed by bulky cations aids in hindering recombination between photoanode and electrolyte. © 2020 by authors.
Keywords
phthaloyl starch, hydroxyethyl cellulose, rheology, quasi-solid electrolyte, dye-sensitized solar cell
Divisions
CHEMISTRY
Funders
Deanship of Scientific Research at King Abdulaziz University through RG-40-135-40,Modal Insan Postdoctoral Fellowship at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia under MI 2019-014
Publication Title
Polymers
Volume
12
Issue
3
Publisher
MDPI