Liquid Crystals Embedded in Polymeric Electrolytes for Quasi-Solid State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Applications

A new series of liquid crystal embedded in polymeric electrolytes was developed for obtaining high efficiency in quasi‐solid state dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The polymeric electrolytes were composed of iodide and tri‐iodide redox species in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a polymer matrix and liquid crystals (E7 or ML‐0249) for increasing the order parameter of electrolyte components with easy transport of redox species. The highest efficiency (6.21 and 6.29% at 1 sun) was obtained for the quasi‐solid state DSSCs using E7 to PAN and ML‐0249 to PAN, respectively, under AM 1.5 G illumination and an aperture mask condition. The high efficiencies of the quasi‐solid state DSSCs are due to the effective formation of pathways through liquid crystal orientation for the transport of redox species. A new series of liquid crystal embedded in polymeric electrolytes was developed for obtaining high efficiency in quasi‐solid state dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The liquid crystal exhibited ionic conductivity exceeding 10−3S·cm−1 in the range of 20–100°C. The highest power conversion efficiency of 6.29% at 1 sun was obtained for the quasi‐solid state DSSCs using liquid crystals embedded in polymeric electrolytes under AM 1.5 G illumination and an aperture mask condition.