Performance of Natural Dye Extracted from Annatto, Black Plum, Turmeric, Red Spinach, and Cactus as Photosensitizers in TiO2NP/TiNT Composites for Solar Cell Applications

Abstract

This paper is aimed at how to select, extract, and characterize natural dyes and to use them as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Dyes obtained from fresh sources of annatto fruits, black plums, cactus fruits, turmeric roots, and red spinach leaves were used as sensitizers. The dye pigments were analyzed using UV-Vis spectrophotometer and FT-IR for the characterization of their spectral properties. The combination from Titanium dioxide paste with the powdered nanotubes was used as photoanodes for DSSCs. The photovoltaic properties of the DSSCs such as efficiency, fill factor, open-circuit voltage, and short circuit current were studied using a standard illumination of air-mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5 G) having an irradiance of 100 mW/cm2. The highest power conversion efficiencies (η) of 0.7% was achieved for the DSSCs fabricated using dye extracted from annatto fruits and 0.4% each for dyes extracted from black plum fruits and cactus fruits, respectively. The widespread accessibility of these fruits, roots, and leaves and ease of extraction of dyes from these ordinarily available natural resources render them unique and low-cost candidates for solar cell fabrication.