NATURAL DYE SENSITIZERS MIXTURE OF CURCUMIN, CHLOROPHYLL, AND ANTHOCYANIN FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are photoelectrochemical-based solar cells and much research is being conducted on improving their efficiency and material costs. To advance the use of sustainable materials, natural dyes such as curcumin, chlorophyll, and anthocyanin have been identified as promising sensitizers for DSSCs. Curcumin dyes extracted from turmeric have high absorbance of visible light (+/- 420-580 nm wavelengths). Chlorophyll dyes extracted from spinach leaves are able to absorb light in the blue (+/- 400-450 nm wavelengths) and red (+/- 625-700 nm wavelengths) regions. Anthocyanin dyes extracted from mangosteen peel can absorb light with wavelengths from 480-580 nm. It was predicted that the combination of several natural dyes would increase the absorbance region of solar cells and therefore improve their efficiency. This study aimed to produce mixed natural dyes from curcumin, chlorophyll, and anthocyanin. The volume ratio of curcumin-chlorophyll-anthocyanin was varied at 1:0:0, 0:1:0, 0:0:1, 1:1:1, 2:1:1, 1:2:1, and 1:1:2. The effects of the dyes were tested by using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer and scanning electron microscope. The performance of the solar cell was characterized with the photocurrentvoltage curve under irradiation of 100 mW/cm(2). The results show that the mixing of curcumin, chlorophyll, and anthocyanin resulted in a dye with a wider range of light absorbance and greater efficiency than that of a single dye. The best electrical performance of a DSSC was achieved by the 1:2:1 (curcuminchlorophyll-anthocyanin) dye, with efficiency, short-circuit photocurrent density, open-circuit photovoltage, and fill factor values of 0.513%, 2.17 mA/cm(2), 0.471 V, and 0.501, respectively.