Photoelectrochemical Performance of Dye-sensitized Organic Photovoltaic Cells Based on Natural Pigments and Wide-bandgap Nanostructured Semiconductor
Eli Danladi *
Department of Physics, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria
Ezeoke Jonathan
Department of Physics, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria
M. S. Ahmad
Department of Physics, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria
Danladi Ezra
Department of Agricultural Science, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria
S. H. Sarki
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria, Nigeria
Ishaya Iliyasu
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria, Nigeria
P. M. Gyuk
Department of Physics, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Four natural dyes, extracted from natural materials such as flowers, and leaves, were used as sensitizers to fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The photoelectrochemical performances of the DSSCs based on these dyes show that the open circuit voltages (VOC) varies from 0.433 to 0.470 V, and the short circuit photocurrent densities (JSC) ranges from 0.044 to 0.138 mAcm−2, the fill factors (FF) and the cell efficiencies () also vary from 0.400 to 0.570 and 0.021 to 0.065%, respectively. The DSSC sensitized with Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers extract was found to be superior to those obtained from other dyes. The DSSC gave a JSC of 0.138 mAcm-2, VOC of 0.470 V, FF of 0.504, and η of 0.065%. The sensitization performance related to interaction between the dye and TiO2 surface is discussed.
Keywords: Natural pigments, DSSCs, photoelectrochemical performance, TiO2