Hybrid TiO2-Gigantochloa Albociliata Charcoal in Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

Abstract

The Dye Sensitized Solar cell (DSSC) is an alternative to the silicon solar cell because it is low cost and easy to fabricate. In previous work, Remazol Orange (RO) was used as a dye sensitizer in DSSC but the efficiency is still low, 0.13%. In order to increase the device performance, TiO2 thin film as the working electrode is hybridized with high conducting and absorption material which is bamboo charcoal powder (BCP). It is founded that the nanoparticle size of TiO2-BCP composite was smaller compared to pristine TiO2. The ratio of TiO2 and BCP did not give any significant effect towards the particle size. The efficiency of RO DSSC was highly improved by 84.6% at higher carbonization temperature, 1100 °C compared to 500 °C during pyrolysis process due to its capability in absorbing more dye as it has larger specific area.