Influence of nanomaterial fillers in biopolymer electrolyte system for squaraine-based dye-sensitized solar cells
College
College of Science
Department/Unit
Chemistry
Document Type
Article
Source Title
International Journal of Electrochemical Science
Volume
10
Issue
9
First Page
7696
Last Page
7706
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
The vast use of fossil fuel demands the development of new sources of renewable energy. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been extensively studied due to their competitive cost, ease of fabrication, high degree of tunability and relatively good-energy conversion efficiencies. The performance and stability of DSSCs are limited by leakage and solvent evaporation. This study explores the effects of nanofillers in the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells by incorporating nano-sized titanium dioxide, iron (III) oxide and halloysite fillers into the polymer electrolytes based on κ-carrageenan/DMSO/TBAI:I2. Optimization and characterization of various concentrations of fillers were done before incorporation in solar cells. The effect of ionic conductivity and diffusion coefficient to the overall conversion efficiency of the cells were studied. The effect of squaraine dye was also investigated. The addition of various fillers to the polymer electrolyte system increased the dissociation of iodide ions and improved the ionic conductivity of the cells. The diffusion coefficient of tri-iodide ions was also greatly enhanced because of the increased volume of the system brought about by reducing polymer-polymer interaction, which increased the mobility of the redox couple (I3-/I-). DSSC characterization revealed a low efficiency due to a relatively high charge transfer resistances at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface. © 2015 The Authors.
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Recommended Citation
Chan, S., Bantang, J. O., & Camacho, D. (2015). Influence of nanomaterial fillers in biopolymer electrolyte system for squaraine-based dye-sensitized solar cells. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 10 (9), 7696-7706. Retrieved from https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2313
Disciplines
Chemistry
Keywords
Biopolymers; Electrolytes; Dye-sensitized solar cells; Nanostructured materials
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