Effects of concentrated light on the performance and stability of a quasi-solid electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells

Highlights: • Printable electrolytes were prepared with TiO₂ nanofillers. • QSDSSC with TiO₂ nanofillers exhibits a higher efficiency as compared to the liquid cell. • System efficiency of the QSDSSC increases by ~5.1 times under concentrated light. • QSDSSC exhibit high stability under concentrated light soaking. In this study, a quasi-solid dye-sensitized solar cell (QSDSSC) and a liquid DSSC were coupled with a concentric mirror. Under focused concentrated light, the QSDSSC exhibited higher performance stability when compared to the liquid DSSC, which showed remarkably low stability due to the leakage and evaporation of the liquid electrolyte. The QSDSSC retains ~91.4% of its initial efficiency after 120 mins, while the liquid DSSC retains only ~73.2%. The enhanced stability of the QSDSSC is attributed to the 3D frame formed by the nanofillers and polymers, which effectively prevent evaporation and leakage of the electrolyte.