A nanoporous TiO2 electrode and new ionic liquid doped solid polymer electrolyte for dye sensitized solar cell application

Abstract

Nanocrystalline TiO2 films with nanosized pores have been synthesized using the doctor-blade method. A new kind of low-viscosity ionic liquid (1-ethyl 3-methyl imidazolium thiocyanate) doped solid electrolyte (using polyethylene oxide, PEO, as host) (ILSE) has been examined and sandwiched between the aforesaid electrode and counter-electrode. The structural, electrical and photo-electrochemical characterization of ILSE is reported in this paper. It is observed that the doping of ionic liquid (IL) has improved the ionic conductivity and the efficiency of the solar cells fabricated using this ILSE. The photovoltaic performance of a dye sensitized solar cell using solid ILSE film is also discussed.