“Soggy sand” electrolyte based on COOH-functionalized silica nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cells

A new kind of carboxyl group-functionalized silica nanoparticles were synthesized and employed as framework to form “soggy sand” electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cells. The property of this electrolyte has been evaluated by studying the effect of the carboxyl group-functionalized silica nanoparticles content on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. The cells based on electrolyte containing the carboxyl group-functionalized silica nanoparticles show better performance owing to the increased short-circuit photocurrent than that of the liquid device and yield the energy conversion efficiency of 7.1% under AM 1.5 illumination at 100 mV cm− 2 when the content of the carboxyl group-functionalized silica is 15 wt.%.

► The COOH-modified SiO2 particles (MA-COOH) were synthesized.
► The MA-COOH particles were employed to solidify ionic liquids for DSSCS.
► The value of JSC and Dapp of I3− were enhanced after adding the modified particles.
► The efficiency of DSSC with this composite gel electrolyte was up to 7.10%.