Solid-state photoelectrochemical device using poly(o-methoxy aniline) as sensitizer and an ionic conductive elastomer as electrolyte

We report on a photoelectrochemical cell based on polymers (electrolyte and sensitizer) and TiO2. Poly(epichlorohydrin-co-ethylene oxide) filled with NaI/I2 was used as electrolyte and poly(o-methoxy aniline) doped with p-toluenesulfonic (PoAni-TSA) as dye. The short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage obtained with illumination at 120 mW cm−2 are 12.2 μA cm−2 and 0.048 V, respectively, indicating that the ionic conductive elastomer is appropriated for assembling a totally solid device. The monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency decreases from 1.3% to 0.1%, from 410 to 600 nm, respectively, showing that the conducting polymer acts as a dye for TiO2, injecting electrons into its conduction band.