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- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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Binary counter ion effects and dielectric behavior of iodide ion conducting gel-polymer electrolytes for high-efficiency quasi-solid-state solar cells
- 2020
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In: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 22:22, s. 12532-12543
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A series of highly efficient quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) is prepared by harnessing the binary cation effect and positive effects of the selected performance enhancers of gel-polymer electrolytes. The new electrolyte is composed of polyacrylonitrile polymer, tetra-hexylammonium iodide (Hex(4)NI) and KI binary salts as well as 4-tertbutylpyridine and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide performance enhancers. The charge transport in the series of electrolytes is thermally activated and, accordingly, the temperature dependence of conductivity follows the VTF behavior. The enhancement of conductivity is observed with an increasing mass fraction of KI and decreasing mass fraction of Hex(4)NI, while the total mass fraction of salts in the electrolyte is kept unchanged. The highest conductivity of 3.74 mS cm(-1)at ambient temperature is shown by the sample containing KI only (without Hex(4)NI) at all the temperatures. The effects of dielectric polarization of the electrolytes are studied by analyzing the frequency dependence of the real and the imaginary parts of the AC conductivity in detail. Appropriate and reproducible cell construction are assured by efficiencies of above 5% exhibited by all the quasi-solid-state DSCs assembled using double-layered TiO(2)photo-electrodes and the new electrolyte series. Besides, highlighting the mixed cation effect, the cells with mixed salts exhibited efficiencies greater than 6%. An impressively high efficiency of 7.36% was shown by the DSC prepared with electrolyte containing 75 wt% KI and 25 wt% Hex(4)NI. This study reveals that the salt combination of KI and Hex(4)NI, which has not been reported before, is a suitable binary iodide salt mixture to prepare highly efficient DSCs. The replacement of tetra-hexylammonium ions by K(+)ions improves the charge transport in the electrolyte; however, the best solar cell performance is shown by the mixed salt system with 75 wt% KI and 25 wt% Hex(4)NI, which is not the highest conductivity composition. Therefore, the exhibited high efficiency of 7.36% is evidently due to the binary cation effect.
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- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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Combined effect of alkaline cations and organic additives for iodide ion conducting gel polymer electrolytes to enhance efficiency in dye sensitized solar cells
- 2017
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In: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-4686. ; 252, s. 208-214
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Iodide ion conducting electrolytes are intensively studied as effectual electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). However, the nature and concentration of the counter-ion (cation) in the electrolyte exert a profound influence on the performance of the thin film meso-porous TiO2 based DSSCs. A series of gel electrolytes containing the alkaline iodides LiI, NaI, KI, RbI and CsI and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were fabricated together with the non-volatile plasticizers ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC). A similar series was fabricated with the inclusions of performance enhancers (additives) tetrapropylammonium iodide (Pr4NI), the ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-propyl imidazolium iodide (MPII) and 4-tert-butylpyridine (4TBP). The ionic conductivity of the electrolytes was studied in order to investigate its dependence on the nature of the alkaline cation in presence or absence of additives. The conductivities were higher for the electrolytes with the larger cations, namely K+, Rb+ and Cs+. A significant conductivity enhancement was observed in presence of the additives, and this effect was especially noticeable for samples with the smaller cations. The highest conductivity for electrolytes with additives, 3.96 mS cm(-1) at 25 degrees C, is exhibited by KI containing samples. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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Conductivity behaviour in novel quasi-solid-state electrolyte based on polyacrylonitrile and tetrahexylammonium iodide intended for dye sensitized solar cells
- 2013
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In: Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. - : Sri Lanka Journals Online (JOL). - 1391-4588 .- 2362-0161. ; 41:3, s. 175-184
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The conduction of iodide ions in gel polymer electrolytes and the performance of dye sensitized solar cells containing such an electrolyte can be enhanced by incorporating a salt having a bulky cation. In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and Hex(4)N(+)I(-) based gel electrolytes with ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate as plasticizers have been studied. The variation of conductivity and molar conductivity with salt concentration has been discussed in order to understand the mechanism of iodide ion conductivity in this system. Out of the various compositions studied, the electrolyte containing 120 % salt with respect to weight of PAN showed the highest conductivity, 2.0 X 10(-3) Scm(-1) at 25 degrees C and a glass transition at - 102.3 degrees C. The electrolytes exhibit predominantly ionic behaviour and because of the bulky cation a negligible cationic transport is shown. A quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell was fabricated employing the optimized gel electrolyte. This cell showed an energy conversion efficiency of 3.1 % and a short circuit current density of 8.1 mAcm(-2) under irradiation of 1000 Wm(-2).
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- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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Determination of charge carrier transport parameters in a polymer electrolyte intended for Li-ion batteries using electrochemical impedance analysis
- 2020
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In: Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1433-0768 .- 1432-8488. ; 24:5, s. 1207-1216
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Solid polymer electrolytes are key components in many electrochemical devices. For an in-depth study of the basic parameters of such electrolytes, we developed a previously proposed method in order to determine the charge carrier density (n), mobility (μ), and diffusion coefficient (D) of ionic conductors using electrochemical impedance analysis. This reinforced method was tested with a composite solid electrolyte based on polyethylene oxide, ethylene carbonate, LiCF3SO3, and alumina filler by analyzing DC conductivity, frequency dependence of AC conductivity, and the complex dielectric function. The results show a clear picture of the temperature dependence of the parameters n, μ, and D; for example, at 20 °C, more than 15% of the total number of ions available in the electrolyte are mobile, and this value decreases with increasing temperature, most probably due to increased ion association in agreement with measurements using other techniques. The increase in ionic conductivity with increasing temperature is thus due to an increased mobility of the ionic species.
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| 7. |
- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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Efficiency enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells with PAN:CsI:LiI quasi-solid state (gel) electrolytes
- 2014
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In: Journal of Applied Electrochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1572-8838 .- 0021-891X. ; 44:8, s. 917-926
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While many attempts have been made in the recent past to improve the power conversion efficiencies of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), only a few reports can be found on the study of these cells using binary iodides in the gel polymer electrolyte. This paper reports the effect of using a binary mixture of (large and small cation) alkaline salts, in particular CsI and LiI, on the efficiency enhancement in DSSCs with gel polymer electrolytes. The electrolyte with the binary mixture of CsI:LiI = 1:1 (by weight) shows the highest ionic conductivity 2.9 x 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 25 A degrees C. DC polarization measurements showed predominantly ionic behavior of the electrolyte. The density of charge carriers and mobility of mobile ions were calculated using a newly developed method. The temperature dependent behavior of the conductivity can be understood as due to an increase of both the density and mobility of charge carriers. The solar cell with only CsI as the iodide salt gave an energy conversion efficiency of similar to 3.9 % while it was similar to 3.6 % for the cell with only LiI. However, the electrolyte containing LiI:CsI with mass ratio 1:1 showed the highest solar cell performance with an energy conversion efficiency of similar to 4.8 % under the irradiation of one Sun highlighting the influence of the mixed cation on the performance of the cell. This is an efficiency enhancement of 23 %.
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| 8. |
- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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Electrical and complex dielectric behaviour of composite polymer electrolyte based on PEO, alumina and tetrapropylammonium iodide
- 2017
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In: Ionics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0947-7047 .- 1862-0760. ; 23:7, s. 1711-1719
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, the electrical, dielectric and morphological analysis of composite solid polymer electrolytes containing polyethylene oxide, alumina nano-fillers and tetrapropylammonium iodide are conducted. The temperature dependence of conductivity shows activation energy of 0.23, 0.20 and 0.29 eV for electrolytes containing 0, 5 and 15 wt.% alumina, respectively, when data fitted to the Arrhenius equation. These activation energy values are in good agreement with those determined from dielectric measurements. The result confirms the fact that conductivity is activated by both the mobility and the charge carrier density. The conductivity isotherms demonstrated the existence of two peaks, at 5 and 15 wt.% Al2O3 composition. The highest conductivity values of 2.4 × 10−4, 3.3 × 10−4 and 4.2 × 10−4 S cm−1 are obtained for the sample with 5 wt.% Al2O3 at 0, 12 and 24 °C, respectively, suggesting an enhancement of conductivity compared with that of alumina free samples.
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| 9. |
- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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High efficiency dye-sensitized solar cell based on a novel gel polymer electrolyte containing RbI and tetrahexylammonium iodide (Hex(4)NI) salts and multi-layered photoelectrodes of TiO2 nanoparticles
- 2019
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In: Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 1364-0321 .- 1879-0690. ; 103, s. 282-290
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- High efficiency dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been achieved using a novel polymer gel electrolyte containing RbI and tetrahexylammonium iodide (Hex(4)NI) binary salts in combination with multi-layered TiO2 photoelectrodes. Performance enhancers were incorporated to the electrolyte to improve the efficiency in the DSSCs. Varying the salt mass fraction, showed that the conductivity in the electrolyte increases with increasing amount of RbI. The highest ionic conductivity of 4.19 mS cm(-1) is exhibited by the electrolyte sample with RbI: Hex(4)NI weight ratio of 3:1 at 25 degrees C. The temperature dependence of the electrolytes shows Arrhenius behavior. It is found that the electrolyte with RbI: Hex(4)NI weight ratio of 1.06:1 is more suitable for DSSC's applications and it has a conductivity of 3.77 mS cm(-1). A colloidal suspension of P25 TiO2 nanoparticles was used to make the spin coated photo-anodes in the form of stacks of 1-6 layers. The formation of a highly uniform and porous structure is observed with increasing number of layers from scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the layers are predominantly anatase phase with crystallite size of 19-22 nm. The band gap was estimated to be around 3.22 eV based on UV-Visible spectroscopy and found to be decreasing slightly with increasing layer thickness. The maximum efficiency of 7.5% and an impressively high current density of 20 mA cm(-2) were observed for the 4-layer device with the new gel electrolyte based on RbI and Hex(4)NI. This study not only brings reliability and consistency to the ways of preparing well-ordered TiO2 photoanodes but also offers the possibility of low-cost practical and highly efficient quasi-solid state DSSCs.
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- Bandara, T M W J, 1968, et al.
(author)
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N719 and N3 dyes for quasi-solid state dye sensitized solar cells - A comparative study using polyacrylonitrile and CsI based electrolytes
- 2016
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In: Ceylon Journal of Science. - : Sri Lanka Journals Online (JOL). - 2513-230X .- 2513-2814. ; 45:2, s. 61-69
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dye sensitized solar cells offer a low cost alternative technology for solar energy harvesting. However, there are long term stability issues connected with these cells due to the liquid electrolytes normally used. Gel or solid polymer electrolytes which do not contain volatile solvents have been used in this investigation in order to alleviate these problems. Two types of solar cells were assembled using a double layered TiO2 film sensitized with two types of dye sensitizers, namely N719 (Ruthenizer 535-bisTBA) and N3 (Ruthenizer 535) in order to compare their performance. Quasi-solid-state electrolytes based on PAN (polyacrylonitrile) as the host polymer and CsI as the iodide salt were prepared by incorporating ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC) as plasticizers. The conductivity of the electrolyte was further improved by adding tetrapropylammonium iodide (Pr4NI), 1-methyl 3-propyl imidazolium iodide (MPII) and 4-tert-butylpyridine (4TBP). The incorporation of these additives resulted in 17% enhancement in ionic conductivity. This improved electrolyte was used to fabricate the solar cells with N3 and N719 dyes. The efficiency of the N3 dye based solar cell was 3.85% whereas the efficiency of the N719 dye based solar cell was 4.14% representing a significant efficiency enhancement by 7.53% by the N719 dye. In addition, due to additives the solar cell efficiency has enhanced by 19% compared to the solar cell without any additive.
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