Photoelectrochemical characterization of UV-crosslinked polymer electrolytes with non-conventional additives: towards efficient and durable quasi-solid DSSCs

As a feasible option for photovoltaic technology to meet the growing energy demand, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted much attention due to their low cost, ease of fabrication and good performance. Standard DSSCs use a liquid electrolyte, which leads to relevant technological drawbacks associated with poor long-term stability, difficulty in robust and hermetic sealing, electrolyte evaporation/leakage. In this context, we have recently proposed polymer electrolyte membranes as a promising strategy to solve these problems. Membranes were prepared by a rapid, energy-saving and environment friendly technique of photopolymerization, that can find an appropriate location also in the nascent industrial production plants of third generation photovoltaic cells. To further improve the performance of photoelectrochemical devices, as well as their durability, we propose here the incorporation of some unconventional additives: metal-organic frameworks and microfibrillated cellulose. The proper selection of materials and the optimization of the preparation process will lead to efficiencies up to 7%, stable over time. The evaluation of the photoelectrochemical, structural, and physicochemical characteristics of these electrolytes will be thoroughly discussed. The performances of the lab-scale devices will be presented by means of a combined photovoltaic-chemometric approach, definitely innovative for the study of polymer based electrolytes for DSSCs.