Quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells based on a sol–gel organic–inorganic composite electrolyte containing an organic iodide salt

An organic–inorganic composite gel electrolyte based on TiO2 gel, c-butyrolactone (c-BL) and N-methyl pyridine iodide was prepared by the sol–gel method. This gel electrolyte shows high ambient ionic conductivity of 7.63 mS cm 1, which is close to the data of liquid electrolyte with the same organic iodide salt and c-butyrolactone. Based on the gel electrolyte, a quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell was fabricated and the highest overall energy conversion efficiency of light-to-electricity of 3.06% was achieved under irradiation of 60 mW cm 2. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.