Effect of Titanium Dioxide Thickness on Performance of DSSC Solar Cell Using Red Dragon Fruit Dye

Abstract

A solar cell is an electrical device used to convert the energy of sunlight directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. One type of solar cells that uses plant dyes is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The DSSC is in the form of a structural arrangement known as a sandwich structure, consisting of conductive glass as transparent electrode, titanium dioxide (TiO2) sensitized by plant dyes, electrolyte, and a metal electrode as a counter electrode. The paper aims to study the effect of TiO2 thickness on DSSC performance utilizing red dragon fruit flesh extract as a dye. Three variations in the thickness of the TiO2 layer evenly positioned in the conductive area are tested. The thicknesses of the TiO2 layer are 99 µm, 129 µm and 141 µm respectively. The DSSC performance is tested outdoors with sunny weather conditions from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. A calibrated Arduino measurement kit is used to measure the voltage and current values produced by the DSSC prototype. Testing with a thickness of 141μm resulted in the highest maximum power value of 532.26 mW among the three thickness variations.

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“…This plate is a molecular sensitizer, and it is dipped into photosensitizer with another electrode like platinum. The FTO plate acts as an anode . The electrodes are interconnected within the DSSCs setup, where FTO is the counter electrode.…”

“…The FTO plate acts as an anode. 5 The electrodes are interconnected within the DSSCs setup, where FTO is the counter electrode. It is essential for the work function of the synthesized electron extraction material film to be low.…”

“…The energy transformation efficacy of a solar cell depends upon the materials used to develop the device . It was reported that TiO 2 , , ZnO, SnO 2 , and organic polymers have demonstrated good optical and electronic characteristics and are found suitable as photoanode materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). , Silicon (Si)-based solar cells are first-generation PV cells. It is reported that the micro-crystalline silicon cell efficiency is 11.9%, while the thickness of the solar radiation interacting film is approximately 2 μm.…”