Dye-sensitized solar cells concocted with dyes extracted from fresh and dried leaves of Henna using different solvents

Abstract

Fresh and dried leaves of Lawsonia inermis (Henna) were used in extracting dyes with variety of solvents such as ethanol, acetone and distilled water. To our knowledge, acetone has been used for the first time as solvent to extract henna dye. These extracted dyes were used as sensitizers in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). A sum of six DSSCs were fabricated. Spectroscopic studies (UV-Visible and FTIR) were recorded for all the six dyes extracted and for the photo-anodes prepared. J-V Characterization study was performed for all the cells and parameters such as Voc, Jsc, Vm, Jm, fill-factor and efficiency were calculated for the prepared cells. To our knowledge, the efficiency of DSSCs with sensitizer extracted from henna leaves with acetone and distilled water as solvent has been reported for the first time. It was seen that amongst all the cells prepared, the one with dye extracted from dried leaves using acetone as solvent showed higher efficiency of 0.351% with fillfactor of 0.3765.

Thymus schimperi Ronniger plant flower extract dye-sensitized solar cells

“…Using the prepared photoanodes and platinum-coated counter electrodes, DSSCs were assembled by sandwiching the two electrodes together using binder clips with the conductive surfaces facing each other. HI-30 Iodolyte electrolyte was injected into the cell through the back-drilled counter electrode using a syringe [9]. Photocurrent-voltage (J-V) measurements of the fabricated cells were carried out under AM 1.5 G spectral illumination and an irradiance of 100 mW cm −2 calibrated using a Keithley 2450 source meter.…”

“…Renewable energy relates to energy derived from a variety of resources, all of which rely on self-renewing sources of energy such as solar thermal [3], solar photovoltaics [4], wind energy [5], biomass [6], hydropower [7] and geothermal [8]. Solar energy, which is abundantly and freely obtained from the sun, is one of the alternatives to fossil fuels [9]. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a third-generation photovoltaic technology that have attracted extensive attention since the first cost-effective DSSC device was reported by O'Regan and Grätzel [10].…”

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“…Oven drying had higher levels of flavonoids because the heating temperature occurring in the oven was more evenly distributed, and the resulting air circulation was perfect, thus optimizing the drying process. The drying method by using an oven is a good way for the phytochemical content of simplicial [24]. Besides, the used temperature was monitored to complete the whole process quickly.…”