Conductivity and Electrochemical Behavior of Plasticized Polymer Electrolyte for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Integrated Supercapacitor

The current energy situation requires not only enormous energy in a brief period of time but clean energy as well. In this direction, a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) - supercapacitor (SC) integrated energy device has been fabricated. This embedded energy system has a specific advantage such as easy manufacturing, low manufacturing costs, and flexible substrates compatibility. A natural photosensitizer was extracted from readily available beetroots and characterized using ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy. The zinc oxide semiconductor was synthesized using microwave technique and regarded as the DSSC photoanode material. The ZnO's phase, purity, and morphology were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope. The iodine-doped cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) biopolymer electrolyte functions as the DSSC and supercapacitor electrolyte. The solid polymer electrolyte conductivity and dielectric studies were performed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The laser-induced technique was used to synthesize graphene that plays a dual purpose as photocathode in DSSC and supercapacitor electrodes. The embedded energy unit from the DSSC-supercapacitor demonstrates a 6.75% fill factor representing its decent efficiency.