In Situ Low Temperature Polymerization of Bismaleimide for Gel-Type Electrolyte for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

For the first time, gel-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated with gel electrolyte containing poly-1,1′-(methylenedi-4,1-phenylene)bismaleimide (PBMI) prepared by in situ polymerization of the corresponding monomer without an initiator at 30 °C. Furthermore, when 0.3 wt % of the exfoliated alkyl-modified nanomica (EAMNM) was added into the gel electrolyte, the corresponding DSSC shows higher short-circuit current density ( J sc = 17.08 mA/cm 2 ) and efficiency (η = 7.05%) than that with PBMI-gel electrolytes without EAMNM ( J sc = 15.34 mA/cm 2 and η = 6.24%, respectively).