Onion Peel Dye-Nanocomposite as Light Harvester in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Silver nano-composites (ROPED-AgNPs) were synthesized by bio-reduction of silver ions usingdye extract from red onion peels (ROPED). Both ROPED and ROPED-AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR, XRD, EDS and TEM. While ROPED was amorphous and in micro-scale, ROPED-AgNPs were crystalline, spherically shaped, non-agglomerating and of sizes within the nano range. Both materials were evaluated as sensitizers for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by assessing their light absorption and photo-electrochemical properties. Results revealed that ROPED and ROPED-AgNPs are potential light harvesters and afford energy conversion efficiency of 0.33 % and 0.78 % respectively.