The production of pristine graphene materials for industrialization, often limited by the complicated synthesis route, has introduced other graphene derivatives with a workable and facile synthesis route, especially for mass production. For the chemical exfoliation process, the synthesis involves oxidants and reducing agents to exfoliate the graphene layer from the 3D graphite and remove excess oxygen-containing functional groups yielding graphene-like materials known as reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This work feasibly produces rGO with nanoplatelet morphology through the green solution-processable method. Upon reduction, the crystallite size for the a-axis (L_a) is more prominent (22.50 Å) than the crystallite size for the c-axis (L_c) (11.50 Å), suggesting the nanoplatelets structure of the end product, which is also confirmed by the morphology. The integrated intensity (I_D/I_G) ratio and average defect density (n_D) of as-prepared rGO confirmed the sp² restoration in the graphitic structure. Overall, the Raman and X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization parameters validate the production of rGO nanoplatelets, especially with four graphene layers per domain, suggesting that high-quality rGO are achievable and ready to be implemented for the large-scale production.

Low ionic conductivity in gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) affects low dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) performance is a crucial issue. Generally, the GPEs contain polymer (act as solvent holder), solvent, and salt (as ions provider). Usually, the GPE-based DSSCs are assembly with three necessary compartments: working electrode, GPE, and platinum electrode. The DSSCs parameters are included open-circuit voltage, Voc; short-circuit current density, Jsc; fill factor, ff and efficiency, %. This review's main objective was to explore an additive such as plasticizer, filler, and ionic liquid effects on the ionic conductivity in GPEs by improving ions mobility and expanding the free volume of the GPE. The impact of additives in the GPE is also expected to enhance the DSSCs performance by increasing the J_sc, V_oc, ff, and efficiency. This comprehensive review discussed the latest progress of GPE utilizing the additive by listing the literature from the recent ten years.