Effect of 4-nitroaniline-doped PVDF/LiI/I2 based polymer electrolyte for dye sensitized solar cell applications

The present work focuses on enhancing the Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) power conversion efficiency through the incorporation of 4-Nitroaniline into solid polymer electrolyte (SPE). The SPE were synthesized using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/lithium iodide (LiI)/iodine (I2) matrix with various weight percentages (0% to 50%) of 4-Nitroaniline. Structural and morphological characterizations were examined using FT-IR, XRD, and SEM while the ionic conductivity was examined by AC-Impedance spectroscopy. Significantly the SPE containing 30% of 4-Nitroaniline shows the highest conductivity of 5.54 × 10–5 Scm−1 attributed to enhance the increasing ion transport properties and decreasing aggregation and clustering. The achievement of 3.73% as PCE with Fill Factor (FF) of 70.05%, Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) of 0.72 V, Short Circuit Current Density (Jsc) of 7.40 mA/cm2 under 1000 W/m2 illumination revealed at 30% 4-Nitroaniline-doped electrolyte in DSSC. These findings demonstrate the highlight of 4-Nitroaniline for improving DSSC performance.