Document Type : Research
Authors
1 Department of physic,,- Faculty of science,- Payama Noor university- Tehran-Iran
2 Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
This study explores the impact of natural pigments from eggplant peel and purple cabbage, combined with the synthetic pigment N719, on the power conversion efficiency of DSSC cells. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized using the Sol-Gel method and deposited onto the photoanode via the Doctor blade technique. Five DSSC samples were sensitized with different dyes: DSSN1 with eggplant peel, DSSN2 with red cabbage, DSSN3 with N719, DSSN4 with a 1:1 mixture of eggplant and cabbage dyes, and DSSN5 with an equal mixture of eggplant, cabbage, and N719 dyes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the hexagonal structure of ZnO with an average crystallite size of 32.30 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a porous anode surface with nanoparticles averaging 28.46 nm, allowing efficient penetration of the electrolyte and dye. UV-Visible spectroscopy revealed that the three-dye combination had the broadest absorption spectrum (400–700 nm) and the lowest energy band gap (2.14 eV). Photovoltaic testing using a PnuAhwaz-SOL simulator showed that DSSN5 achieved the highest efficiency of 1.46%. Combining natural and synthetic dyes enhanced DSSC efficiency significantly. The cell sensitized with two natural dyes showed an 18% higher efficiency than with a synthetic dye, and the three-dye combination increased efficiency by 100%. This approach also offers low production cost and eco-friendly benefits.
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