Performance Simulation of Ipomoea involucrata Dye Extracts for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using crude and purified extracts from Ipomoea involucrata leaves and flowers. The crude extract was obtained using a solvent system based on the combination of distilled water, ethanol and nitric acid. Furthermore, the purified extract comprising anthocyanins was obtained from the crude extracts. In order to study, the effectiveness of the dye, optical and electrical characteristics was determined using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer and solar simulator respectively. The highest power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 0.00412% and 0.00234% was obtained for crude and purified extracts respectively. Also, optical absorbance examined indicate similar absorption pattern for the crude extracts as well as purified extracts. A distinctive peak between 500 and 550 nm was observed for the crude flower extract. The widespread availability of these plants and ease of extraction of the extracts make them useful as absorbers in DSSCs. Consequently, simulation to determine the performance of the extracts was established using MATLAB.