title: Electrodes/electrolyte interfaces in the presence of a surface-modified photopolymer electrolyte: application in dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: Since hundreds of studies on photoanodes and cathodes show that the electrode/electrolyte interfaces represent a key aspect at the base of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) performances, it is reported here that these interfaces can be managed by a smart design of the spatial composition of quasi-solid electrolytes. By means of a cheap, rapid, and green process of photoinduced polymerization, composition-tailored polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) with siloxane-enriched surfaces are prepared, and their properties are thoroughly described. When assembled in DSSCs, the interfacial action promoted by the composition-tailored PEMs enhances the photocurrent and fill factor values, thus increasing the global photovoltaic conversion efficiency with respect to the non-modified PEMs. Moreover, the presence of the siloxane-chain-enriched surface increases the hydrophobicity and reduces the water vapor permeation into the device, thus enhancing the cell's durability.
authors: Center for Space Human Robotics @Polito, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Trento 21, 10129 Torino (Italy). adriano.sacco@iit.it.
authors: Adriano
authors: A
authors: Sacco
authors: Federico
authors: F
authors: Bella
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: De La Pierre
authors: Micaela
authors: M
authors: Castellino
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Bianco
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: Bongiovanni
authors: Candido Fabrizio
authors: CF
authors: Pirri
keywords: electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; electrodes/electrolyte interfaces; energy conversion; membranes; polymerization