Article ID: MS-26-1
Although DSSC using quasi-solid electrolytes have been developed to stabilize electrolyte systems, their ionic conductivity is lower than that of liquid systems. Therefore, in this study, organic-modified clay was added to quasi-solid electrolytes to improve the ion conductivity. We found that the effect of adding clay on the ion diffusion coefficient (D) differed depending on the ion species used in the electrolyte. The D of triiodide with Li+ increased approximately 3.1 times with adding clay, whereas that with imidazolium ions decreased by approximately 0.38 times. The photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of DSSC with the prepared quasi-solid electrolytes was measured and, similar to the change in D, it increased from 0.22 to 0.87% with Li+ and decreased from 1.4 to 1.1% with imidazolium ions. From this study, it was found that the addition of clay can be expected to improve the function of quasi-solid electrolytes by using appropriate ionic species.
