Acetylacetone: a promising electrolyte solvent for dye sensitized solar cells

Abstract

The electrolyte is an indispensable component of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) known to exert significant influence on the efficiency and stability of DSSCs. In particular, DSSC efficiency by virtue of the acid/base characteristics of an electrolyte solvent is well known. In the present study, a non-nitrile solvent, acetylacetone (ACAC), with a higher boiling point (140 °C) has been explored as an electrolyte solvent for DSSCs. J–V characteristics reveal that ACAC is a promising electrolyte solvent that shows higher J_sc resulting from the conduction band edge shift towards a more positive potential, which is attributed to its acidic nature compared to an acetonitrile based electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry, EIS and dark current analysis confirm that the additive 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP) tends to lower the concentration of triiodide drastically in an ACAC based electrolyte. To resolve this issue, use of an alternative additive (8HQ) which shows an increment of ∼10% in current density is demonstrated.