TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Composition: The electrolyte composition is formed of the nanoparticles or porous inorganic film chemically modified by the ammonium group or the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group through the intermediary of an acyclic hydrocarbon group straight chain having a functional group at one end.Preferred Components: The nanoparticles and the porous inorganic film each are formed of a metal oxide. The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group comprises at least one group selected from an imidazolium group of formula (I), pyridinium group of formula (II), triazolium group of formula (III), and guanidinium group of formula R13-N(R14)-CH(=N+(R17)((CH2)n-COOH))-N(R15)(R16) (IV); and a counter anion group is selected from the group consisting of F-, Cl-, Br-, I- and a compound of formula Y-(CH2)n-COOH (V). The ammonium group is a compound of formula HOOC-(CH2)n-N+(R18)(R19)(R20) (VI).R1 - R12 and R18 - R20 = H or 1-10C alkyl;n = 4 - 20;R13 - R17 = H or phenyl; andY = -SO3- or -COO-. EXAMPLE - On a transparent substrate on which a transparent conductive film made of SnO2 was vacuum deposited, Ti-Nanoxide D (RTM: paste) was coated and baked at 450degreesC for 30 minutes to prepared a titania electrode. Subsequently, the transparent substrate with the titania electrode formed on it was soaked in an ethanol solution containing 0.1 mass% of cis-di(thiocyanato)-N,N'-bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylato)ruthenium(II). A transparent substrate with a platinum-containing transparent conductive film sputtered thereon was prepared as the counter electrode. P25 (RTM: TiO2 nanoparticles) were added to an acetonitrile solution in which 8-bromooctanoic acid was dissolved, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature all day in a dark room. The mixture thus obtained was filtered to obtain a solid, which was washed with acetonitrile to remove the remaining 8-bromooctanoic acid, and was further dried to obtain TiO2 nanoparticles with 8-bromooctanoic acid bound to it. The TiO2 nanoparticles with 8-bromooctanoic acid bound to it were added to an acetonitrile solution in which methylimidazole was dissolved, and the solution was stirred at room temperature for one day in a dark room. The mixture thus obtained was filtered to obtain a solid, which was washed with acetonitrile, and dried under reduced pressure (under vacuum) to obtain TiO2 nanoparticles chemically modified with an adduct of methylimidazole (methylimidazole group) and 8-bromooctanoic acid (8-bromooctanoic acid group). To an electrolytic solution composed of methylpropylimidazolium iodide (water content: 5 mass%) containing 300 mM of I2, 500 mM of LiI, and 580 mM of tert-butylpyridine, the modified particles were added with a ratio (particles/electrolytic solution=1) to yield a gelled electrolyte composition. The electrolyte composition was coated on the titania electrode formed on the transparent substrate, the counter electrode was superposed through the electrolyte composition on the transparent substrate with the titania electrode formed thereon by using 50 microns of Himilan (RTM: resin) as a spacer and adhesive, to fabricate a cell. The area of the fabricated cell was 0.25 cm2, and the solar cell efficiency (photoelectric conversion rate) was measured with YSS-50A (RTM: solar simulator). The solar efficiency was found to be 6%.