Dye Sensitized Solar Cell using Polymer Electrolytes based on Poly(ethylene oxide) with an Ionic Liquid

The encapsulation of volatile organic electrolytes is a major challenge in practical applications of the DSSC. Ionic liquid (IL) within polymer electrolytes is an attractive candidate for replacement. Here we used a low viscosity ionic liquid 1-ethyl 3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate in order to modify ionic conductivity (${\sigma}$) of polymer electrolyte ($PEO:Kl/l_{2}$) and hence DSSC efficiency. The doping of IL enhanced ${\sigma}$ and attained maximum (${\sigma}=7.62{\times}10^{-4}S/cm$) at 80 wt% of IL concentration. Beyond this it was harder to get stable films. XRD confirmed that the intensity of the sharp PEO crystalline peaks decreased when IL was added. The DSC studies confirmed the reduction in crystallinity by adding ionic liquid.The efficiency of solar cell using aforesaid material was 0.6 % at 1 sun irradiation.