SPECTROSCOPY AND PHOTO-SENSITIZING PROPERTIES OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE EXTRACTED NATURAL DYES

Abstract

The need to transition from hydrocarbon-based fuels to clean, economically feasible sources of energy is critically important toward meeting rapidly increasing global energy requirements and reducing \chem{CO_2} emission. Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are considered to be the potential candidates for the next generation of solar cells because of their ease of fabrication and efficiency over silicon based inorganic solar cells and tunable optical properties. DSSCs were fabricated using eight natural dyes extracted from blackberry, red beetroots, yellow beet roots, spinach, blueberry, cabbage, and turmeric in different solvents (ethanol, acetone, and water). The sensitization performance related to interaction between the dyes and the \chem{TiO_2} surface was discussed. Finally, photophysical properties and power-conversion efficiencies of each individual dye and the mixture of extracted dyes were evaluated.