An Overview on Polymer Electrolytes for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Today's energy crisis is one of the most important concerns of mankind. As the population grows, the need for sustainable and low-risk energy is felt more and more. One of the most accessible and renewable sources of energy is the sun. Solar cells are used to convert solar energy to electrical energy. So far, solar cells have been divided into three generations of silicon solar cells, thin-film solar cells, and third generation solar cells. Dye-sensitized solar cells, also known as an important category of third-generation solar cells, have five main components, including the anode electrode, dye, metal oxide, electrolyte, and counter electrode. An important component in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), electrolytes, is the role of dye electron supply to return to the ground state. Electrolytes used in dye-sensitized solar cells are divided into two classes of liquid and polymer electrolytes. Polymer electrolytes are an interesting technology for increasing of fastness of dye-sensitized solar cells. There are four main kinds of polymer electrolytes as thermoplastic polymers, thermosetting polymer, composites and ionic liquid polymers. The aim of this article is introduce and describe the components of the polymer electrolytes including materials and components. Finally, some brief performance and general perspectives on polymer electrolytes are presented.