Abstract
A nanoparticle TiO2 solid-state photoelectrochemical cell has been fabricated. The effect of ionic conductivity of a solid electrolyte of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)–propylene carbonate (PC)–lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) on the performance of a photoelectrochemical cell of indium tin oxide (ITO)/TiO2/PAN–PC–LiClO4/graphite has been investigated. A nanoparticle TiO2 film was deposited onto ITO-covered glass substrate by controlled hydrolysis technique. A solid electrolyte of PAN–LiClO4 with PC plasticizer prepared by solution casting technique was used as a redox couple medium. The room temperature conductivity of the electrolyte was determined by AC impedance spectroscopy technique. A graphite electrode was prepared onto a glass slide by electron beam evaporation technique. The device shows a photovoltaic effect under illumination. The short-circuit current density, J sc, and open-circuit voltage, V oc, vary with the conductivity of the electrolyte. The highest J sc of 2.82 μA cm−2 and V oc of 0.56 V were obtained at the conductivity of 4.2 × 10−4 Scm−1 and at the intensity of 100 mW cm−2.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are very thankful to School of Food Technology and Chemical Sciences and Faculty of Science and Technology, UKM for the preparation and characterization of the electrolyte and for the solar cell testing in dark and under illumination, respectively. This work was funded by MOSTI under the eScience grant no. 03-02-03-SF0080.
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Rika, Rahman, M.Y.A., Salleh, M.M. et al. Effect of ionic conductivity of a PAN–PC–LiClO4 solid polymeric electrolyte on the performance of a TiO2 photoelectrochemical cell. J Solid State Electrochem 14, 2089–2093 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-010-1040-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-010-1040-x