Natural pigments as photosensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells with TiO2 thin films

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using four natural dyes extracted from the leaves of lemon (Citrus limon) and morula (Sclerocarya birrea) and flowers of bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra). Optical characteristics of the dye extract solutions and photoelectrochemical performance of the cells were studied. DSSC from lemon showed the highest current density of 1.08 mA/cm2 and highest solar energy conversion efficiency of 0.036 %. Natural pigments offer advantages of natural abundance, simplicity of preparation, low cost and environmental friendliness.