Synthesis and characterization of poly-3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propylmethacrylate as a gel electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cell applications

Poly-3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propylmethacrylate (pCMA) is synthesized as a polymer gel electrolyte and employed in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The pCMA was characterized by various analytical techniques to examine its structural and thermal properties. The photovoltaic and electrochemical effects of this electrolyte in DSSCs were investigated. From the results, it was found that DSSCs assembled with pCMA-PGE is an efficient electrolyte, which yields an open-circuit voltage 545 mV and current density 10 mA for a cell of area 0.25 cm(2). pCMA-PGE device shows better performance (eta = 2.2%), and it also performs as a good host polymer matrix for redox couple in the electrolyte. Graphic abstract