Photoelectrode nanostructure dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract

This study used carica papaya (pawpaw leaf) extracts as natural organic dye for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Pawpaw leaf extract is rich in chlorophyll and was extracted using ethanol as the extracting solvent and serve as the sensitizer for DSSC. The specialty of the DSSC relative to other types of solar cells is the use of the dye. In addition, the self-developed photoelectrode nanostructure TiO₂ with an average particle size of 50 nm was synthesized through solution chemistry techniques and deposited on the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate using screen printing procedure, forming a TiO₂ thin film of 12 μm thicknesses. This TiO₂ thin film underwent sintering at 450 °C to enhance the compactness of the film before impregnation into the dye solutions. This study further investigated the photoelectric conversion efficiency and the fill factor of the encapsulated DSSC. The experimental results show conversion efficiency of 0.030 % with fill factor of 0.5867, short circuit current density (I_Sc) of 15.7325 mA/cm and open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.5248 V. The photoelectrochemical performance of this extract demonstrated to be used as future alternative to application in solar cell.

Keywords: Carica papaya; dye-sensitized solar cell; photoelectrode; conversion efficiency; fill factor