Preparation and Characterization of Anthocyanin Dye and Counter Electrode Thin Film with Carbon Nanotubes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

This study mainly explores the incorporation of counter electrode thin film and extracted natural anthocyanin dye in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We adopt single-walled carbon nanotubes (SCNTs), with diameters of 1–2 nm and lengths of 1–20 mm, as well as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs), with diameters of 10–30 nm and lengths of 10–15 mm. This study also uses a doctor bade to coat the purified carbon nanotubes on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass, so as to form thin film with single layer thickness of around 100 mm. In addition, for preparation of natural dye, anthocyanin dye is extracted from mulberry fruits. The experimental results show that the DSSCs which are incorporated with purified SCNT counter electrode thin film and anthocyanin dye extracted from mulberry fruit can achieve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of 0.672%. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2011063]