A novel ionic liquid–metal complex electrolyte for a remarkable increase in the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel ionic liquid–metal complex (ILMC) electrolyte was developed for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). A high efficiency of nearly 7% was achieved, which was 69.2% higher compared with an ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte without a metal center. The high conductivity, inhibited electron recombination and longer electron lifetime contribute to the superior performance of the ILMC electrolyte.