Effect of self-assembly on triiodide diffusion in water based polymer gel electrolytes: An application in dye solar cell

• The ordered bi-continuous cubic liquid crystalline polymer gel electrolytes were developed.
• High conductivity and triiodide diffusion through interconnected nano channels were observed.
• These ordered gels were successfully employed as an electrolyte in the dye sensitized solar cell.
• A remarkable solar to electricity conversion efficiency and good stability has been obtained.

The preparation of ordered polymer gels from the amphiphilic block copolymers, Pluronic® F77, P123 and polyethylene glycol in the presence of ionic liquid, iodine and organic additives is presented. At 35%(w/w) concentration these copolymers (F77 and P123) self-assembled into cubic liquid crystalline phase in aqueous solution and characterized by using SAXS and AFM measurements. The effects of micellar aggregation formed by polymers on the ionic transport and triiodide diffusion have been studied by electrochemistry and SANS experiments. The ionic migration or triiodide diffusion through these polymer gels is found to be affected by the PEO/PPO content in the polymer backbone. These gels were successfully employed as an electrolyte in a dye sensitized solar cell. A remarkable solar to electricity conversion efficiency and good stability was obtained using Pluronic® F77 based gel, which is attributed to its thermoreversible sol to gel transition.

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