Blending of Dielectric Perovskite with Electron Transport Materials: A Case Study towards Improving Bio-Molecular Devices for Energy Harvest

Abstract

In the present work, the photovoltaic performance changes of organic dye anchored anatase TiO2 based photo-anode after incorporating dielectric material PLT15 (Pb0.85La0.15TiO3) in the TiO2 matrix were studied for DSSC application. The TiO2 and PLT15 modified TiO2 were prepared through a wet chemical process and the crystalline nature, morphological features, and optical properties were studied via XRD, SEM, and Uv–vis analysis, respectively. A few notable changes in the morphology and UV–vis absorption characteristics were observed when TiO2 was modified with PLT15. The hypsochromic shift in the UV–vis absorption spectrum was identified after the modification of TiO2 with PLT15. The estimated bandgap for the PLT15 modified TiO2 was found lower than the primitive TiO2, which shows the lowering of density of states after modification. DSSCs were prepared by anchoring two different natural biomolecule-based organic dyes originating from chlorophyll and carotene were used as a sensitizer for TiO2 and PLT15 modified TiO2 photoanodes. It was observed that extracted chlorophyll dye shows comparatively broader absorption than carotene under visible light and exhibits higher photo-conversion efficiency of DSSC. Furthermore, the modification of TiO2 with dielectric material (PLT15) improves the photoconversion efficiency than the primitive one. This present work provides a comprehensive insight to the researchers regarding the use of dielectric modified semiconducting metal oxide-based photoanodes for bio-molecular devices for energy harvest.