The Cortinarius fungi dyes as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

The dye-sensitized solar cells have been for the first time prepared using Cortinarius fungi extracts as a source of sensitizing dyes. The seven species of Cortinarius group, collected in the East Poland, have been used to obtain crude extracts of natural dyes used as sensitizing solutions to prepare DSSCs working electrodes. Extracts and sensitized electrodes have been well characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy measurements. The device sensitized by Cortinarius sanguineus extract has been found the most active in photon-to-current conversion process with efficiency η=0.64%, fill factor FF=65.9%, photocurrent density JSC=1.79 mA/cm2, and photovoltage VOC=541 mV.