Clitoria ternatea flower as natural dyes for Dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Clitoria ternatea flowers have been investigated as a natural sensitizer in Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Dried C. ternatea flowers ware immersed in ethanol for 48 hours in dark room to obtain anthocyanin pigments. We compared the photovoltaic performance of the sensitizers with Titanium dioxide (TiO2) only and TiO2 with scattering layers. C. ternatea dyes have higher Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) when applied in TiO2 with scattering layers compared to standard TiO2 semiconductors. Scattering layer (SL) has increased the light path inside the photo-anode film that doubled the short-circuit current (Jsc) and enhanced the open circuit voltage (Voc) compared to TiO2 based cell without the SL. In conclusion, from the result, higher electron injections can be achieved by light management on photo-anode film with scattering layers as one of strategy to enhance the efficiency for further low cost and environment-friendly solar cell.