Issue 29, 2006
From the journal:

Journal of Materials Chemistry

An efficient organogelator for ionic liquids to prepare stable quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Nils Mohmeyer,a   Daibin Kuang,b   Peng Wang,†b   Hans-Werner Schmidt,*a   Shaik M. Zakeeruddin*b  and  Michael Grätzel*b  

* Corresponding authors

a Macromolecular Chemistry I, Bayreuther Institut für Makromolekülforschung (BIMF) and Bayreuther Zentrum für Grenzflächen und Kolloide (BZKG), University Bayreuth, D-95447 Bayreuth, Germany
E-mail: hans-werner.schmidt@uni-bayreuth.de
Fax: +49 (0) 921 55 3206
Tel: +49 (0) 921 55 3200

b Laboratory for Photonics and Interfaces, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
E-mail: michael.graetzel@epfl.ch, shaik.zakeer@epfl.ch
Fax: +41 (0) 21 693 3115 (M. G.)
Tel: +41 (0) 21 693 3112 (M. G.)

Abstract

A low molecular weight amphiphilic organogelator capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds and well-organized supramolecular structures was found to efficiently gel low-viscosity binary mixtures of ionic liquids at low concentrations. With this gelator it is possible to prepare stable quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). At a gelator concentration of only 2 wt%, the sol–gel transition temperature (Tgel) based on the lowest viscosity ionic liquid mixture was at 108 °C, well above the service temperature. Due to the thermoreversible nature of the system, the cells can be conveniently filled with a low-viscosity liquid. Upon cooling and formation of the gel a mechanically stable quasi-solid-state electrolyte was obtained. We successfully employed this quasi-solid ionic liquid electrolyte in DSCs and obtained an efficiency of 6.3% at full sunlight irradiation and maintained its stability during the light soaking accelerating stress test at 60 °C over 1000 h.

Graphical abstract: An efficient organogelator for ionic liquids to prepare stable quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

About
Cited by
Related
Download options Please wait...

Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B604021G
Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Mar 2006
Accepted
24 Apr 2006
First published
31 May 2006

J. Mater. Chem., 2006,16, 2978-2983

Permissions

Request permissions

An efficient organogelator for ionic liquids to prepare stable quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

N. Mohmeyer, D. Kuang, P. Wang, H. Schmidt, S. M. Zakeeruddin and M. Grätzel, J. Mater. Chem., 2006, 16, 2978 DOI: 10.1039/B604021G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Spotlight

Advertisements