Performance of a new polymer electrolyte incorporated with diphenylamine in nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cell

A new solvent-free composite polymer electrolyte consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) incorporated into diphenyl amine (DPA) along with KI and I2 has been developed. The current–voltage characteristics of this nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cell measured under simulated sunlight with 1.5 AM at 60 mW/cm2 have indicated that this cell generates a photocurrent of 10.2 mA/cm2, together with a photovoltage of 810 mV and fill factor of 0.47 yielding an overall energy conversion efficiency of 6.5%. This result suggests that the electron donicity of DPA influences the interaction of nanocrystalline TiO2 electrode and I−/I3− electrolyte, leading to a high performance of the fabricated solar cell.