Abstract:
The aim of this work is to sensitize an electrolyte from the copolymer of Acrylonitrile and Methylmethacrylate to replace the liquid electrolyte in die sensitized solar cells. A copolymer, Acrylonitrile–Methylmethacrylate (AN–MMA) was synthesized by emulsion polymerization from acrylonitrile (AN) and methylmethacrylate (MMA) as monomers. The performances of the copolymer were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and TGA. The copolymer contains CH2, CN and CO bonds, and shows its thermal stability up to 350 °C. Porous membranes based on Acrylonitrile-Methylmethacrylate (AN-MMA) copolymer were prepared by phase-inversion method. Microstructures of the porous membranes were controlled through the variation of the evaporation drying time before immersion in a nonsolvent (water) bath. The polymer membrane has a porous structure with an average pore diameter of about 0.5 µm. Gel polymer electrolytes were prepared from these porous membranes via soaking them in an organic electrolyte solution. They encapsulated the electrolyte solution well without solvent leakage and maintained good mechanical properties that allowed the preparation of thin films (≈40µm thickness).The ionic conductivities of thin films were calculated by Hall Effect apparatus. These systems showed acceptable ionic conductivity values up to (1.87×10-4 S (cm)-1) at room temperature. From these results and analysis we can consider these gel polymer electrolytes for utilization in dye sensitized solar cells as a hole conducting material instead of liquid electrolytes which have many draw backs like their sensitivity towards environmental conditions etc
