Abstract
Five percentage of PVDF-HFP effectively gels liquid, organic-solvent-based electrolyte.
Poly(vinylidenefluoride-
co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and silica nanoparticles were employed to solidify 3-methoxypropionitrile based liquid electrolytes containing an ionic liquid, 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide, as iodide resource. These new quasi-solid-state electrolytes were successfully used for regenerative phtoelectrochemical cells that yielded about 6.7% efficiency under simulated full sunlight (air mass 1.5, 100
mW
cm
−2) in combination with an amphiphilic ruthenium polypyridyl photosensitizer. The as-fabricated device showed a good thermostability at 80
°C for 30 days, maintaining higher than 90% of its initial performance.