Graphene tailored polymer gel electrolytes for 9.1%-efficiency quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Pursuit of technological implementation with enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency and power generation ability in the dark is a persistent objective for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We launch here three strategies of designing graphene tailored polymer gel electrolytes (PGEs) with an electron conducting feature, aiming at reserving I-/I-3(-) redox couples into three-dimensional (3D) PGE framework, reducing I-3(-) species within the PGE and shortening the diffusion length of redox couples. The 3D PGE provides framework for I-/I-3(-) diffusion like in a liquid system, whereas graphene experiences to form interconnected channels along polyelectrolyte backbones. The results demonstrate that a power conversion efficiency of 9.1% is yielded on the resultant quasi-solid-state DSSCs by optimizing synthesis strategies. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.