Tetramethyl Succinonitrile as a Solid Plasticizer in a Poly(ethylene oxide)8‐LiI‐I2 Solid Polymer Electrolyte. Issue 6 (3rd February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gupta, Ravindra Kumar; Shaikh, Hamid; Imran, Ahamad; Bedja, Idriss; Aldwayyan, Abdullah Saleh
• Is Part Of: Macromolecular rapid communications. Volume 43:Issue 6(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-02-03
• Subjects: blends -- dye‐sensitized solar cells -- electrical conductivity -- FT‐IR spectroscopy -- plasticizers -- tetramethyl succinonitrile; Macromolecules -- Periodicals; Polymers -- Periodicals; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 547.705
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.202100764
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1022-1336

Abstract

Abstract: Dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a promising alternative to the commercially available amorphous silicon‐based solar cell because of several advantageous properties. A DSSC with a fast ion conducting solid polymer electrolyte is required for the arid atmosphere of Gulf countries. In this work, a new matrix, poly(ethylene oxide)‐tetramethyl succinonitrile blend to synthesize a blend‐LiI‐I2 solid polymer electrolyte for the DSSC application has been proposed. The tetramethyl succinonitrile is a member of plastic crystal with a solid–solid phase transition temperature ( T pc ) of ≈71 °C and melting temperature ( T m ) of ≈170.5 °C. Its molar fraction, 0.1–0.15 is sufficient enough for synthesizing a polymer electrolyte with electrical conductivity of >10 –4 S cm –1 at room temperature. This electrolyte shows Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher type behavior with a low value (≈0.083 eV) of pseudo‐activation energy for easy ion transport. The results of Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, and differential scanning calorimetry studies reveal the plasticizing effect of tetramethyl succinonitrile to form an amorphous phase. This electrolyte results in a ≈661% gain in short‐circuit current density and thereby a ≈552% gain in the cell efficiency (≈3.5%) with respect to the DSSC prepared with the tetramethyl succinonitrile‐free electrolyte. Abstract : All‐solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cell is one of the economical alternatives of the commercially available amorphous silicon‐based solar cell. In this work, a new plastic crystal, tetramethyl succinonitrile, is introduced as a solid plasticizer for synthesizing a solid redox mediator. This electrolyte attains electrical conductivity of more than 10 −4 S cm −1 at room temperature, and thereby cell efficiency of ≈3.5%.