A novel gel electrolyte for quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

A new kind of gel electrolyte containing only organic solvents and an iodide salt (3-methoxy propionitrile (MPN), aniline (AN) and AlI3) is prepared. Based on a Lewis acid-base interaction between the ionic conductor AlI3 and the organic solvent AN, gel formation is obtained. FTIR analysis of the AlI3-AN hybrid shows changes in the peaks characteristic of the -NH2 group and aromatic ring, verifying the formation of an AlI3-AN complex. The photovoltaic performance of a quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cell with the AlI3-MPN-AN gel electrolyte containing a 3/1 mole ratio of AN versus AlI3 shows improvements when compared to the performance of a comparable solar cell using the AlI3-MPN liquid electrolyte. This suggests that AN can act as an efficient electrolyte additive to enhance both of the photovoltaic performance and the long-term stability of the cell obviously. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.