A Sulfide/Polysulfide-Based Ionic Liquid Electrolyte for Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells

• Published in: Journal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 133; no. 50; pp. 20156 - 20159
• Main Authors: Jovanovski, Vasko, González-Pedro, Victoria, Giménez, Sixto, Azaceta, Eneko, Cabañero, Germán, Grande, Hans, Tena-Zaera, Ramon, Mora-Seró, Iván, Bisquert, Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 21.12.2011
• ISSN: 0002-7863; 1520-5126
• DOI: 10.1021/ja2096865

Further development of quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) will require long-term stability in addition to the continuous increase of photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency achieved in the last years. We report a robust S2–/S n 2– electrolyte that has been specifically designed for compatibility with CdSe quantum dots in sensitized solar cells. The new pyrrolidinium ionic liquid reaches 1.86% efficiency and a short-circuit current close to 14 mA·cm–2 under air-mass 1.5 global illumination and improves the device lifetime with good photoanode stability over 240 h. PV characterization showed that the solar cell limitations relate to poor catalysis of regeneration at the counter electrode and high recombination. Further improvement of these factors in the robust electrolyte configuration may thus have a significant impact for advancing the state-of-the-art in QDSCs.