Binary Polyethylene Oxide/Titania Solid-State Redox Electrolyte for Highly Efficient Nanocrystalline TiO ₂ Photoelectrochemical Cells

Poly(ethylene oxide)/titania polymer electrolyte based photoelectrochemical cells have been fabricated with Ru(dcbpy) 2 (NCS) 2 complex as the sensitizer and nanoporous TiO 2 films as photoanodes. The introduction of the titania filler into the poly(ethylene oxide) matrix reduces the crystallinity of the polymer and enhances the mobility of the I - /I 3 - redox couple, resulting in outstanding overall conversion efficiency (4.2% under direct sunlight illumination) of the corresponding dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO 2 solar cell, one of the best efficiencies reported to date for a solid-state device.