Sonochemically tailored Copper Oxide as nanofiller in terpolymer composite gel electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells

This article describes the impact of several weight percentages of copper oxide (CuO) as a nanofiller on the structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). CuO-350 was synthesized using a sonochemical method following by calcination at 350 ℃ and was incorporated into the polymer-salt system to develop a polymer composite gel electrolyte (PCGE). The improvement in the amorphous phase and complexation between the constituents were proven via X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared. However, the thermal stability declines with the addition of CuO-350 nanofillers. It was found that TCuO350–5 exhibited the highest ionic conductivity and apparent diffusion coefficient of triiodide of (3.49±0.01)×10−3 S cm−1 and 1.48 × 10−5 cm2 s−1, respectively. The best-performing sample among PCGE is found to be TCuO350–5, containing 5 wt% of CuO-350 with an efficiency of 7.69% with JSC of 23.47 mA cm−2, VOC of 0.62 V, and fill factor of 52.9%. In addition, it also has the highest charge collection efficiency (87.31%) and longest electron lifetime (1.446 s). TCuO350–5 has achieved the stability of the device with efficiency retained 92% at room temperature and retains 80% efficiency even at 80 ℃. [Display omitted]