A quasi solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell made of polypyrrole counter electrodes

Quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cells have been constructed using nanocrystalline titania, a Ureasil-based nanocomposite gel electrolyte and polypyrrole-functionalized counter electrode. Polypyrrole was synthesized by potentiostatic electrodeposition using pyrrole monomer as precursor by a simple procedure in aqueous solution. The thus obtained polypyrrole films were very robust. They were characterized by FE-SEM microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and they were used for the construction of solar cells. The employment of polypyrrole electrocatalyst was judged satisfactory for the present application since it was only 30% less efficient than the corresponding counter electrodes functionalized with Pt. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.