Quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with siloxane poly(ethylene glycol) hybrid gel electrolyte.

A new type of hybrid gel electrolyte matrix based on tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and poly(ethylene glycol) (Mw 200, PEG200) was developed for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The quasi-solid-state DSSC containing the hybrid gel electrolyte rendered an open-circuit voltage of 0.74 V, a short-circuit photocurrent density of 9.2 mA cm−2 and a fill factor of 0.61 at 100 mW cm−2, and consequently an overall solar energy conversion efficiency of 4.1%. TiO2 films and gels were characterized by FE-SEM and FT-IR, and the assembled DSSCs by photocurrent density–voltage and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]