Comparative study of dyes and effects of purification on selected plants for dye-sensitized solar cells application

Abstract

The extensive research and interest in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) due to their relatively low cost, simple preparation methodology, low toxicity, and comparable ease of production continues to garner momentum over recent decades. This study explores the extraction and purification of dyes from different plant sources for solar cell applications. The results obtained from these extracts commonly serve societies ranging from dyes for textiles to medicinal applications for multiple ailments and also for DSSC. The purification using dyechloromethyl (DCM), an organic solvent, and column chromatography helps separate the impurities and other solutions and get the pigment responsible for each dye. The dyes were deposited using a simple drop-casting technique on a doctor-blade fabricated TiO2 layer. The UV-Vis characterizations of the dyes showed an increase in the band gap values after the purification, and FTIR characterizations showed the presence of chemical structures needed for dye-sensitized solar cells. EIS studies showed a decrease in the impedance values after purification, which could positively enhance the efficiency of solar cell devices.