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Enhancing the Performance of Nanocrystalline TiO2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Phenothiazine-Doped Blended Solid Polymer Electrolyte

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Abstract

Herein, we present a novel blended solid polymer electrolyte system composed of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-co-HFP) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) with the addition of phenothiazine (PZ) as an additive and iodide/triiodide (I-/I3-) as a redox couple in nanocrystalline TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The characterization of the blended solid polymer electrolyte was conducted using techniques such as XRD, FTIR, SEM, and current-voltage (I-V) measurements. Our analyses revealed a decrease in the degree of crystallinity in PVDF-co-HFP/PMMA-based blended solid polymer electrolytes due to the incorporation of PZ, as observed through XRD, FTIR, and SEM. The electrical conductivity of the optimized solid polymer electrolyte film was determined using complex impedance spectroscopy, showing a maximum ionic conductivity value of 3.2 × 10-7 Scm-1 at ambient temperature (298 K). DSSCs based on nanocrystalline TiO2 were fabricated, and the cell parameters, including short-circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (ff), and photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency (η), were evaluated. The DSSC fabricated with the polymer electrolyte exhibited values of 9.3 mA/cm2, 800 mV, 0.56, and 5.2% for Jsc, Voc, ff, and η, respectively, under 80 mW/cm2 at AM 1.5 simulated solar irradiation.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, SDNB Vaishnav College for Women, Chrompet, Chennai, India

    Amudha Subramanian

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul 624 622, India

    S. Murugapoopathi

  3. Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan

    Kassian T. T. Amesho

  4. Center for Emerging Contaminants Research, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan

    Kassian T. T. Amesho

  5. The International University of Management, Centre for Environmental Studies, Main Campus, Dorado Park Ext 1, Windhoek, Namibia

    Kassian T. T. Amesho

Authors
  1. Amudha Subramanian
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Contributions

A.S.: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, software. S.M.: methodology, software, validation, visualization, writing-original draft. K.T.T.A: formal analysis, supervision, validation, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing.

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Correspondence to Kassian T. T. Amesho.

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Highlights

• Blended solid polymer electrolyte enhances DSSC energy conversion efficiency.

• Phenothiazine (PZ) additive improves charge transfer in DSSCs.

• PVDF-HFP/PMMA electrolyte with PZ suppresses iodine sublimation.

• Structural modification enhances performance of nanocrystalline DSSCs.

• Potential of PZ-doped polymer electrolyte for practical solar cell applications.

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Subramanian, A., Murugapoopathi, S. & Amesho, K.T.T. Enhancing the Performance of Nanocrystalline TiO2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Phenothiazine-Doped Blended Solid Polymer Electrolyte. Electrocatalysis (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12678-024-00867-w

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