This laboratory practice is intended for undergraduate students of chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering, to illustrate the simple concepts behind dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and how basic chemistry can be translated into a practical application through the use of microcontrollers. Unlike commercial counterparts, one of the main problems of handmade solar cells is their low efficiency that impedes their use as a power source, making the laboratory practice less appealing to students. In this work, we present a simple alternative application using an open-source microcontroller and a solar cell as a switch to turn the light on and off, depending on the actual lighting conditions in the room.
DSSC assembled with purified R-phycoerythrin show acceptable efficiency conversion values, especially when extracted from Palmaria decipiens. They showed up to 0.12 % conversion efficiency values. Adsorption of the protein onto the electrode surface plays a relevant role in DSSC performance impacting on the performance. The use of dyes easily obtained in a place as Antarctica is an alternative to explore to solve the energy issue.
Xanthophylls pigments extracted from Hymenobacter sp. UV11 (a bacterium that produces reddish colonies on agar) collected at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, were tested as sensitizers in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Experiments were performed in the presence and in the absence of a co-adsorbent, a slimy substance produced by UV11 and identified as a polysaccharide during this work. Results suggest that the highest conversion efficiency (0.03%) was obtained when using the orange-xanthophylls pigment in the presence of the α-1,4-glucan both co-extracted from UV11. This work highlights the importance of using co-adsorbents as co-adjuvants in the production of more efficient DSSC manufactured with bacterial dyes. These results may contribute to the development of an exploration program of Antarctic resources, and offer the possibility to start the change in the energetic matrix in that remote area of the Planet, decreasing the environmental impact associated with the use of fossil fuels.
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