Photocurrent generation by dye‐sensitized solar cells using natural pigments

Abstract

The development of photovoltaic panels has improved the conversion of solar radiation into electrical energy. This paper deals with the electrical and thermal characteristics (voltage, current, and temperature) of photovoltaic solar cells sensitized with natural pigments (dye-sensitized solar cell, DSSC) based on a titanium dioxide semiconductor. Several natural pigments (blackberry, beets, eggplant skin, spinach, flame tree flower, papaya leaf, and grass extracts) were evaluated to determine their sensitizing effect on titanium dioxide. The results showed the great potential of natural pigments for use in solar cells. The best results were obtained with the blackberry pigment, reaching a value of 7.1 mA current, open-circuit voltage (V ) of 0.72 V in 2 cm , and fill factor (ff) of 0.51 in the DSSC. This performance is well above than that currently offers by actual cells.

Switching of photocurrent polarity in electrochemical cells with light via an excited state proton transfer mechanism

“…Photoelectrochemical cells are usually designed to either generate hydrogen by electrolysis or to generate photocurrent, i.e., they can be analogous to photovoltaic cells, [1][2][3] such as dyesensitized photoelectrochemical cells that make use of light-sensitive organic dyes (photosensitizers) for photocurrent generation. [4][5][6][7] Other common applications of photoelectrochemical cells are taking advantage of the photocurrent polarity for sensing and logic operation. [8][9][10] An important parameter in electrochemical processes is their dependence on the local pH, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] meaning the local concentration of protons next to the electrode.…”

Photocurrent Generation and Polarity Switching in Electrochemical Cells through Light‐induced Excited State Proton Transfer of Photoacids and Photobases**

“…Among the different light‐harvesting technologies, our study here is concerning photoelectrochemistry. Photoelectrochemical cells are usually designed to either generate hydrogen by electrolysis or to generate photocurrent, i.e., they can be analogous to photovoltaic cells, [1–3] such as dye‐sensitized photoelectrochemical cells that make use of light‐sensitive organic dyes (photosensitizers) for photocurrent generation [4–7] . Other common applications of photoelectrochemical cells are taking advantage of the photocurrent polarity for sensing and logic operation [8–10] …”

“…Photoelectrochemical cells are usually designed to either generate hydrogen by electrolysis or to generate photocurrent, i.e., they can be analogous to photovoltaic cells, [1][2][3] such as dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells that make use of light-sensitive organic dyes (photosensitizers) for photocurrent generation. [4][5][6][7] Other common applications of photoelectrochemical cells are taking advantage of the photocurrent polarity for sensing and logic operation. [8][9][10] An important parameter in electrochemical processes is their dependence on the local pH, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] meaning the local concentration of protons next to the electrode.…”

Switching of photocurrent polarity in electrochemical cells with light via an excited state proton transfer mechanism

“…Photoelectrochemical cells are usually designed to either generate hydrogen by electrolysis or to generate photocurrent, i.e., they can be analogous to photovoltaic cells, [1][2][3] such as dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells that make use of light-sensitive organic dyes (photosensitizers) for photocurrent generation. [4][5][6][7] Other common applications of photoelectrochemical cells are taking advantage of the photocurrent polarity for sensing and logical operation. [8][9][10] An important parameter in electrochemical processes is their dependence on the local pH, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] meaning the local concentration of protons next to the electrode.…”