In situ Poly(methyl methacrylate)/Graphene Composite Gel Electrolytes for Highly Stable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with long-term stability are produced using polymer-gel electrolytes (PGEs). In this study, we introduce the formation of PGEs using in situ gelation with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles and graphene fillers that are pre-deposited on the counter electrodes. We obtain a high concentration PMMA-based PGEs (i.e., over 10 wt%). A DSC composed of a PMMA/graphene composite PGEs exhibits an 8.49% photon-to-electric conversion efficiency, which is comparable to conventional liquid electrolyte DSCs. This finding is attributed to increased ion diffusivity and conductivity of the PMMA-based PGEs resulting from the incorporation of graphene nanofillers. The PMMA-based PGE DSCs exhibit highly stable long-term efficiencies, maintaining up to 90% of their initial efficiency during thermal soaking, whereas the efficiencies of liquid electrolyte cells decrease significantly, by up to 60%.