scholarly journals Effect of Combination of Natural Dyes and the Blocking Layer on the Performance of DSSC

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan ◽  
Fahmid Kabir ◽  
Md. Serajum Manir ◽  
Md. Saifur Rahaman ◽  
Md. Robium Hossain ◽  
...  

Over the years, researchers have been working on replacing sensitized dye for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC), because of its low production cost, biodegradability, and non-toxicity. However, the overall performance of natural dye-based DSSCs is low compared to the DSSCs sensitized with Ruthenium based dyes. The combination of natural dyes with an optimized choice of the extracting solvents and the proper volume ratio of mixture of the dyes, enhances inherent properties, such as absorption and adsorption of the dyes. It also allows the device to utilize photon energy more efficiently over the entire visible wavelength. As a result, DSSC sensitized with the dye mixture shows higher absorbance, and cumulative absorption properties over the whole visible region than the DSSC fabricated with individual dyes and showed higher photocurrent. Another effective way to improve cell efficiency is by using a blocking layer. The blocking layer increases the photocurrent, is mainly due to the improvement of the electron recombination at the transparent conducting oxide/electrolyte interfaces. Also, the blocking layer’s compact structure creates an effective pathway for electron transportation; thus, the device’s photocurrent increases. Additionally, a slight improvement in the open-circuit voltage and fill factor was observed, thus cell efficiency enhances significantly. By both the proper ratio of dye mixture and the blocking layer improves cell performance of DSSC and opens a new pathway for future studies.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zularif Zolkepli ◽  
Andery Lim ◽  
Piyasiri Ekanayake ◽  
Kushan Tennakoon

The use of anthocyanin dyes extracted from epidermal leaves of Tradescantia spathacea (Trant) and petals of Ixora coccinea (IX) was evaluated in the application of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Subsequently, cocktail anthocyanin dyes from these dyes were prepared and how they enhanced the cell’s overall performance was assessed using five different volume-to-volume ratios. Cocktail dyes absorbed a wider range of light in the visible region, thus increasing the cell efficiencies of the cocktail dyes when compared to the DSSC sensitized by individual dyes. The surface charge (zeta-potential), average size of aggregated anthocyanin molecules (zetasizer), and anthocyanin stability in different storage temperatures were analyzed and recorded. Lower size of aggregated dye molecules as revealed from the cocktail dyes ensured better adsorption onto the TiO2 film. Tradescantia/Ixora pigments mixed in 1 : 4 ratio showed the highest cell efficiency of η=0.80%, under the irradiance of 100 mW cm−2, with a short-circuit current density 4.185 mA/cm2, open-circuit voltage of 0.346 V, and fill factor of 0.499. It was found that the desired storage temperature for these cocktail dyes to be stable over time was −20°C, in which the anthocyanin half-life was about approximately 1727 days.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajat Biswas ◽  
Suman Chatterjee

Abstract Effective suppression of dye aggregation on the photoanode surface of dye sensitized solar cell plays a key role in improving the solar cell efficiency. Chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) is a very popular anti dye aggregation material used in Dye sensitized solar cells. However, the selection of an improper concentration of CDCA may lead to decreased solar cell efficiency by lowering the open circuit voltage and short circuit current as a consequence of reduced dye loading. The influence of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) as a dye co-adsorbent on the performance of DSSCs fabricated using Rose Bengal dye was studied in this paper. The concentration of the CDCA solution was varied to identify the optimum value for the best device performance. Aside from this, the effect of a very thin and compact ZnO blocking layer was also investigated to reduce the recombination. With photovoltaic parameters such as short circuit current density (Jsc) = 1.98 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage (Voc) = 0.58 V, and fill factor (FF) = 0.43, the traditional cell displayed an overall conversion efficiency of 0.50 %, while the power conversion efficiency was found to be increased to 0.97 % ( Jsc = 2.80 mA/cm2, Voc= 0.64, FF = 0.58 ) when CDCA was added at optimised concentration of 8 mM. Reduced dye aggregation and increased electron injection in the presence of CDCA may be accounted for the DSSC's remarkable improvement in efficiency. Moreover, the combined effect of 8 mM CDCA and the compact ZnO blocking layer dramatically enhanced the efficiency further to 1.23 % (Jsc = 3.09 mA/cm2, Voc= 0.66, FF = 60 ). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) analysis revealed that the addition of CDCA as a co-adsorbent in the dye solution and addition of ZnO blocking layer resulted in significantly improved electron lifetime and reduced electron recombination yielding improved Jsc, Voc and η.


2018 ◽  
Vol 382 ◽  
pp. 369-373
Author(s):  
Usana Mahanitipong ◽  
Preeyapat Prompan ◽  
Rukkiat Jitchati

The four thiocyanate free ruthenium(II) complexes; [Ru(N^N)2(C^N)]PF6were synthesized and characterized for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The results showed that the broad absorptions covered the visible region from metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) were obtained with the main peaks at 560, 490 and 400 nm. The materials were studied DSSC performance under standard AM 1.5. Compound PP1 showed the power conversion efficiency (PCE) at 3.10%, with a short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc) of 7.99 mA cm-2, an open-circuit photovoltage (Voc) of 563 mV and a high fill factor (ff) of 0.690.


2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainal Arifin ◽  
Sudjito Soeparman ◽  
Denny Widhiyanuriyawan ◽  
Suyitno Suyitno ◽  
Argatya Tara Setyaji

Natural dyes have attracted much researcher’s attention due to their low-cost production, simple synthesis processes and high natural abundance. However the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based natural dyes have higher tendency to degradation. This article reports on the enhancement of performance and stability of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using natural dyes. The natural dyes were extracted from papaya leaves by ethanol solvent at a temperature of 50 °C. Then the extracted dyes were isolated and modified into Mg-chlorophyll using column chromatography. Mg-chlorophyll was then synthesized into Fe-chlorophyll to improve stability. The natural dyes were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The performance of DSSCs was tested using a solar simulator. The results showed the open-circuit voltage, the short-circuit current density, and the efficiency of the extracted papaya leaves-based DSSCs to be 325 mV, 0.36 mA/cm2, and 0.07%, respectively. Furthermore, the DSSCs with purified chlorophyll provide high open-circuit voltage of 425 mV and short-circuit current density of 0.45 mA/cm2. The use of Fe-chlorophyll for sensitizing the DSSCs increases the efficiency up to 2.5 times and the stability up to two times. The DSSCs with Fe-chlorophyll dyes provide open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and efficiency of 500 mV, 0.62 mA/cm2, and 0.16%, respectively. Further studies to improve the current density and stability of natural dye-based DSSCs along with an improvement in the anchor between dyes and semiconducting layers are required.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanzuo Li ◽  
Huixing Li ◽  
Peng Song ◽  
Chaofan Sun

Three natural dyes (Forsythia suspensa, Herba Violae, and Corn leaf) have been investigated as potential sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. UV-vis absorption spectra reveal that three natural dyes mainly contain the compound of pheophytin a. Among three DSSCs, the highest photo electronic conversion efficiencyηis 0.96% with open circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.66 V, short circuit current density (ISC ) of 1.97 mA cm−2, and fill factor (ff) of 0.74. Theoretical time-dependent density functional theory and charge difference density are used to explore the nature of excited states. Results demonstrate that the first state is an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state, and electron injection could occur owing to the thermodynamically driving force.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indriana Kartini ◽  
Adhi Dwi Hatmanto

This article will discuss natural dyes’ role, from colouring the cotton fabrics with some functionality to harvesting sunlight in the dye-sensitized solar cells. Natural dye colourants are identical to the low light- and wash-fastness. Therefore, an approach to improving the colourant’s physical properties is necessary. Colouring steps employing silica nanosol and chitosan will be presented. The first part will be these multifunctional natural dye coatings on cotton fabrics. Then, functionality such as hydrophobic surfaces natural dyed cotton fabrics will be discussed. Natural dyes are also potential for electronic application, such as solar cells. So, the second part will present natural dyes as the photosensitizers for solar cells. The dyes are adsorbed on a semiconductor oxide surface, such as TiO2 as the photoanode. Electrochemical study to explore natural dyes’ potential as sensitizer will be discussed, for example, natural dyes for Batik. Ideas in improving solar cell efficiency will be discussed by altering the photoanode’s morphology. The ideas to couple the natural dyes with an organic–inorganic hybrid of perovskite and carbon dots are then envisaged.


Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Nur Azella Zaine ◽  
Norani Muti Mohamed ◽  
Mehboob Khatani ◽  
Adel Eskandar Samsudin ◽  
Muhammad Umair Shahid

The dynamic competition between electron generation and recombination was found to be a bottleneck restricting the development of high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Introducing a passivation layer on the surface of the TiO2 photoelectrode material plays a crucial role in separating the charge by preventing the recombination of photogenerated electrons with the oxidized species. This study aims to understand in detail the kinetics of the electron recombination process of a DSSC fabricated with a conductive substrate and photoelectrode film, both passivized with a layer of nanocrystalline TiO2. Interestingly, the coating, which acted as a passivation layer, suppressed the back-electron transfer and improved the overall performance of the integrated DSSC. The passivation layer reduced the exposed site of the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)–electrolyte interface, thereby reducing the dark current phenomenon. In addition, the presence of the passivation layer reduced the rate of electron recombination related to the surface state recombination, as well as the trapping/de-trapping phenomenon. The photovoltaic properties of the nanocrystalline-coated DSSC, such as short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor, showed significant improvement compared to the un-coated photoelectrode film. The overall performance efficiency improved by about 22% compared to the un-coated photoelectrode-based DSSC.


2013 ◽  
Vol 658 ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
Rathanawan Magaraphan ◽  
Jaruwan Joothamongkhon

Four natural dyes from sappan wood, noni leaves, safflower and black rice show 4 different colors, red, green, yellow and dark purple. They were extracted by water/ethanol and used as a sensitizer for the ZnO based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). UV-Visible absorption revealed high extinction coefficients of the safflower, noni leaves and sappan wood while the black rice was opposite. And they were adsorbed on ZnO nanoparticles as suggested by the change in absorption spectrum of ZnO. SEM results showed the ZnO nanoparticle-porous film of 9 micron thick. I-V measurement showed both low short circuit current and open circuit voltage leading to poor fill factor. As a result, the efficiencies of the fabricated solar cells were 0.00165, 0.05865, 0.00007 and 0.00015% for sappan wood, noni leaves, safflower and black rice DSSCs, respectively.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Ivanovska ◽  
Zoran Saponjic ◽  
Marija Radoicic ◽  
Luca Ortolani ◽  
Vittorio Morandi ◽  
...  

The basic concept for efficiency improvement in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) is limiting the electron-hole recombination. One way to approach the problem is to improve the photogenerated charge carriers lifetime and consequently reduce their recombination probability. We are reporting on a facile posttreatment of the mesoporous photoanode by using a colloidal solution of TiO2nanoparticles. We have investigated the outcome of the different sintering temperature of the posttreated photoanodes on their morphology as well as on the conversion efficiency of the DSSC. The DSSCs composed of posttreated photoanodes at 450°C showed an increase inJSCand consequently an increase in efficiency of 10%. Investigations were made to determine the electron recombination via the electrolyte by the OCVD technique. We found that the posttreatment has the effect of reducing the surface trap states and thus increases the electron lifetime, which is responsible for the increase of the overall cell efficiency.


2015 ◽  
Vol 793 ◽  
pp. 450-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Gomesh ◽  
R. Syafinar ◽  
Muhamad Irwanto ◽  
Y.M. Irwan ◽  
M. Fareq ◽  
...  

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) consists of TiO2 nanoporous coating which acts as a photo electrode, a sensitizer of dye molecules soaked in the TiO2 film, liquid electrolyte and a counter electrode. This paper focuses on the usage of a sensitizer from the Pitaya fruit. Pitaya or commonly known as dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) was extracted and used as a sensitizer to fabricate the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The photoelectrochemical performance of Pitaya based solar cell shows an open circuit voltage (VOC) of 237 mV, short circuit current (ISC) of 4.98 mA, fill factor (FF) of 0.51, solar cell efficiency (η) of 0.70 % and has a peak absorbance rate of 2.7 at 550 nm. The photoelectrochemical and UV-Visible light absorbance performance of Pitaya-DSSC shows good potential in future solar cell fabrication.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document