Nanocrystalline TiO<SUB align=right>2 based natural dye sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Dye sensitised solar cells using natural organic dyes were prepared. Sensitisation of wide gap oxides semiconductor materials was accomplished using nanocrystalline TiO2 with henna (Lawsonia inermis L.) and raspberries (Rubus spp.) photosensitisers as a local natural organic dyes. It was shown that the nanocrystalline material based solar cell system exhibits an excellent optical absorption parameters for visible and near infrared portion of the EM spectrum. Henna and raspberries natural dyes were extracted from the corresponding dried plant using Soxhlet extractor. The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current were measured for both of the nanocrystalline solar cell samples. Typical open circuit voltage of 400 mV and short-circuit current density of 0.47 mA/cm² were measured for raspberries cell samples for an active area of ∼3 cm² at 1.5 AM solar illumination. Henna cells samples prepared by the same technique produced an open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density of much lesser values (200 mV, 0.04 mA/cm²). The performance of both nanocrystalline solar cell samples can be appreciably enhanced by optimising the preparation technique and using different types of electrolyte solutions.