Potential of Betanin Natural Dye for Solar Cells Application

Abstract

Background: A photovoltaic cell, or solar cell, is an electronic component which, exposed to light, produces electricity due to the photovoltaic effect. Organic photovoltaic cells are photovoltaic cells, of which at least the active layer consists of organic molecules. It has a yield of at least 15%. The future prospects of the research for solar cell application have been required for development in the field. Objectives: In this work, we propose this paper to study the potential of purified betanin dye on the DSSC applications. Methods: Extraction was elaborated under sonication conditions (25 kHz, 100 W) for 15 minutes. Various films of TiO2 with different thicknesses were prepared referring to the doctor blade method on an FTO glass substrate. Results: The increase of the thickness value of dye_TiO2 films induces a hyperchromic shift of the emission intensity. Conclusion: In this work, betanin dye was extracted from mature red fruits of Opuntia ficus indica and purified with fractional crystallization protocol using an 8:2 (v/v) ratio of ethyl acetate/ethanol. TiO2_films with different thickness values have been prepared by CV and US sensitization of TiO2_films using betanin dye proving an enhancement on the uniformity distribution of the dye on the film in case of the US method. Emission spectra of Dye_TiO2 films have been measured and show a hyperchromic shift of the emission intensity with the increase of the thickness due to the augmentation of betanin content. A comparison between the photovoltaic properties of prepared betanin_ DSSC and N719 dye_DSSC reveals that betanin dye could be successfully proposed as a sensitizing dye in solar cell applications.