Photocurrent growth and decay behavior of crystal violet dye-based photoelectrochemical cell in photovoltaic mode

Abstract

Crystal violet dye-doped photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) show different and unusual behavior in their electrical and optical characteristics. In this work, we have studied the photocurrent growth and decay behavior of crystal violet dye-based solid-state PEC in photovoltaic mode. Photocurrent growth and decay are studied for different intensities of illumination. They follow a power law relationship with time which is of the form I ph ∼ t ±α , where I ph is the photocurrent and α is a constant. The positive and negative signs are used to indicate the growth and decay of the photocurrent, respectively. This power law relation is explained by dispersive transport model which was originally developed by Scher and Montrol and subsequently modified by different workers. The constant, α is termed as dispersion parameter, and it is related to the disorder. It is observed that the value of this parameter depends on the intensity of incident illumination. Dependence of this dispersion parameter on incident intensity is studied in this work. Variations of α with intensity for growth and decay have been discussed. In our system, the value of α is 0.325 ± 0.005 for decay whereas, in the growth region, its value varies from 0.55 to 0.33, when intensity varies from minimum to maximum. The value of the disorder parameter, α, decreases as the intensity of illumination increases for growth of current whereas it remains nearly constant for decay of current. This work will be helpful in understanding the charge transport mechanism of dye-based PEC cell.