The effect of immersion temperature using chlorophyll sensitizer (Amaranthus hybridus L.) on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

This article investigated the effect of immersion temperature on the TiO2 film using chlorophyll extract for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The chlorophyll was extracted from spinach leaves with ethanol solvent. The solution of spinach extract was used for the immersion process on the TiO2 film. The immersion temperatures were varied of 283 K, 303 K and 323 K. The optical properties of TiO2/dye films were analyzed by UV-Vis and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometers. The DSSCs performance were characterized by I-V meter. The highest absorbance was revealed from the immersion temperature of 303 K. Characteristic of FTIR spectra resulted a maximum transmittance of 67.2% at the frequency peak of 3341 cm−1. Additionally, these results directly proportional with the maximum performance of DSSC at immersion temperature of 303 K. The best performance of DSSCs was obtained the Voc, Isc, and conversion efficiency values of 0.43 V, 0.16 mA and 0.04%, respectively.