A new alkyl-imidazole polymer prepared as an inonic polymer electrolyte by in situ polymerization of dye sensitized solar cells

A new imidazole polymer was synthesized in order to develop an ionic polymer electrolyte for quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The polymers are prepared by co-polymerization of alkyl-bis(imidazole)s and diiodoalkyls. The resultant polymer can be regarded as a molten salt type polymer because the polymer chains consist of alkyl-midazolium salts. This polymer is suitable for quasi-solidification of electrolytes in DSCs by in situ polymerization because the polymerization reaction proceeds even in solutions containing iodine. A photon to electron conversion efficiency of the cell containing the ionic polymer electrolyte is 1.3% under a light intensity of 100 mW cm−2 (air mass 1.5).