Highly durable and flexible dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated on plastic substrates: PVDF-nanofiber-reinforced TiO2 photoelectrodes

Yuelong Li, Doh Kwon Lee, Jin Young Kim, Bongsoo Kim, Nam Gyu Park, Kyungkon Kim, Joong Ho Shin, In Suk Choi, Min Jae Ko

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we developed a novel nanostructured polymer nanofiber/TiO2 nanoparticle composite photoelectrode with high bendability by a spray-assisted electrospinning method. The composite film is used as the photoelectrode in plastic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The polymer/TiO2 composite photoelectrode has a structure similar to that of a fiber-reinforced composite; the matrix of the composite photoelectrode contains TiO2 nanoparticles, and PVDF nanofibers are embedded in this matrix. Compared to conventional DSCs, composite-based DSCs show outstanding bending stability because the polymer nanofibers prevent delamination of the electrode by relieving the external stress and effectively retarding crack generation and propagation. Moreover, the efficiency of the cell containing composite electrodes is comparable to that of a cell containing only TiO 2, suggesting that the proposed PVDF-nanofiber-reinforced photoelectrode is a promising candidate for a bendable photoelectrode in high-efficiency flexible plastic DSCs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8950-8957
Number of pages8
JournalEnergy and Environmental Science
Volume5
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2012

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