Layer-by-layer deposition of TiO2–ZrO2 electrode sensitized with Pandan leaves: natural dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract

TiO 2 , ZrO 2 and layer-by-layer TiO 2-ZrO 2 films were prepared by doctor blade method followed by sensitization with natural dye for dye-sensitized solar cell application. The structural and optical, morphological and compositional properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction and UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, BET, surface profilometer and energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated using the prepared electrodes of TiO 2 , ZrO 2 and layer-by-layer TiO 2-ZrO 2 films sensitized with natural dye extracted from Pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius). The J-V characteristics were recorded to measure photo-response of fabricated devices and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to study the electron behavior, series resistance and lifetime. Photovoltaic parameter like shortcircuit current, open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency were evaluated for fabricated solar cell under artificial light supplied from white LED (15 mW·cm −2). The average values of power conversion efficiency of DSSCs fabricated with TiO 2 , ZrO 2 and layer-by-layer TiO 2-ZrO 2 photoanodes were found to be 0.65%, 3.04% and 3.13%, respectively.

Mapping the Progress in Natural Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: Materials, Parameters and Durability

“…Alternative transition metal-based redox couples studied include ferrocene/ferrocenium, [148,149] copper(I/ II), [150,151] cobalt(II/III), [152][153][154][155] nickel(-III/IV) [156,157] and [Mn(acac) 3 ] 0/1 + [158] complexes. Min and co-workers [159] also used SCN À /(SCN) 3 , SeCN/ (SeCN) 3À , (Co 2 + /Co 3 + ), (Co + /Co 2 + ) as an alternative redox mediator and helped resist photocurrent leakage. Nusbaumer et al [160] investigated a series of cobalt mediators and reported that [Co(dbbip) 2 ](ClO4) 2 (dbbip2,6-bis(1-butylbenzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine) performed the best among them, IPCE was found to be 80 %, power conversion efficiency was 8 % in the AM1.5 spectrum at 100 Wm À 2 intensity and higher than 4 % in 1000 Wm À 2 .…”

“…The dependence on renewable energy resources including wind energy, hydro energy, solar energy, biomass, biofuels, and geothermal energy has increased. Among them, solar energy has attracted the attention of researchers, academics, industrialists and policy makers most because of its outstanding properties such as being environmentally friendly, simply exploitable, inexhaustible, renewable, cost‐effective, non‐contaminating and adaptable to various applications [2–7] . To harness solar energy effectively, many technologies are used; photovoltaic (PV) cells and concentrating solar power (CSP) are the most commercialized among them.…”

“…Among them, solar energy has attracted the attention of researchers, academics, industrialists and policy makers most because of its outstanding properties such as being environmentally friendly, simply exploitable, inexhaustible, renewable, cost-effective, non-contaminating and adaptable to various applications. [2][3][4][5][6][7] To harness solar energy effectively, many technologies are used; photovoltaic (PV) cells and concentrating solar power (CSP) are the most commercialized among them. In uninhabited places, CSP appears to be slightly more advantageous, whereas photovoltaics are preferred in humid areas.…”

Investigation of tropical plant‐based natural dyes combination and adsorption optimization for natural dye‐sensitized solar cell

“…20 Natural dyes from plants are one of the most popular areas to investigate environmentally friendly dyes, but the efficiency is still low. 21,22 Natural dyes extracted from plant leaves, 23,24 flowers, 25,26 fruits, 27,28 stem, 29 and roots, 30 and the efficiency differs from less than 0.1%-1.5% 11,22 using regular TiO 2 based nanomaterials. The pigments such as anthocyanin, 11 betalain, 31 and Chlorophyll 32 were considered as the active compounds for the sensitizer in different plant extracts, however, even with similar compounds, different plant extracts have significantly different solar conversion efficiency, and a recent review summarized 14 different plants with anthocyanin with the efficiency range from 0.13% to 1.5% when TiO 2 and I À /I 3 À were applied.…”

Titania Nanorods Embedded with 2-Bromo-3-(methylamino)naphthalene-1,4-dione for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…To meet the rising energy need, the search for new energy sources and easily fabricated photovoltaic devices has recently been of paramount importance. Solar light energy is the clean, most abundant, sustainable, and inexpensive source among the available renewable sources. − Photovoltaic devices have attracted great interest in achieving efficient solar energy utilization due to their effective solar energy to electrical energy conversion efficiency. − However, the photovoltaic performance of photovoltaic devices (DSSCs) significantly depends on the properties of the photoanode materials and their structure. ,,, Till today, numerous semiconductors (ZnO, TiO 2 , Zn 2 SnO 4 , and SnO 2 ) have been used as photoanode materials to drive reactions in solar cells. − Due to its specific properties such as nontoxicity and strong chemical stability, TiO 2 is considered one of the capable photocatalyst candidates. , However, due to the wide band gap (3.0–3.2 eV), TiO 2 can absorb only ultraviolet light from the solar spectrum. Thus, out of the total light available from the solar spectrum, TiO 2 absorbs only 4–5% incident light, while nearly 43% of the visible light in the solar energy is wasted .…”