Properties of poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-acrylonitrile) gel electrolytes

An electrolyte gel,P(4-VP-co-AN),is synthesized by radical solution polymerization.The gel electrolytes containing liquid-electrolyte are prepared by chemical cross-linking reaction of P(4-VP-co-AN)with the gelator,and aiming to be used in dye-sensitized solar cells.The DSSCs with gel polymer electrolytes containing a 25% AN and the DSSCs with the gel electrolyte precursor containing 1.5% of gelator both exhibite optimal photo-electric behaviors.The photo-electric conversion efficiency and peak output power of the quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cells respectively can reach 77.38% and 78.57%,respectively,compared with that of the liquid electrolyte DSSCs.