TITLE:
New Flexible Electrospun PET/TiO2 Composite Photoanode Layer for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, DSSCs, and Its Photovoltaic Performances
AUTHORS:
Hajer Gallah, Frej Mighri, Abdellah Ajji, Jayita Bandyopadhyay, Nouceir Ahmed Ben Ghorbel, Judith Castillo-Rodriguez
KEYWORDS:
Electrospinning, Electrospraying, Coaxial Electrospinning, Nanocomposites, Nanofibers, Flexible DSSCs, Photoanode, TiO2
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.15 No.11,
November
18,
2024
ABSTRACT: Flexible polymer-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) offer promising potential for lightweight, cost-effective and versatile photovoltaic applications. However, the critical challenge in their widespread applications is the weak thermal stability of most polymeric substrates, which can only withstand a maximum temperature processing of 150˚C. In this study, a facile and low-cost strategy is proposed to develop at low temperature DSSC flexible photoanode based on a polymeric matrix. Highly porous nanocomposites fibrous mats composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanobars were prepared through an electrospinning process using different configurations (uniaxial electrospinning, coaxial electrospinning, and electrospray-assisted electrospinning). These techniques enabled precise control of the microstructure and the positioning of TiO2 within the composite nanofibers. Therefore, the as-produced photoanodes were loaded with N719 dye and tested in DSSC prototype using iodide-triiodide electrolyte and platinum (Pt) coated counter electrode. The results show that incorporating TiO2 on the fiber surface through the electrospray-assisted electrospinning enhanced the performance of the nanofiber composite, leading to improved dye loading capacity, electron transfer efficiency and photovoltaic performance.