Investigation of Curcumin and Chlorophyll as Mixed Natural Dyes to Improve the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

This study investigates the natural dyes of curcumin and chlorophyll as sensitizers of dye-sensitized solar cells. Mixing two dyes can create a wider absorbance area, thereby increasing the performance of a solar cell. This study used variations in the volume ratio of the chlorophyll and curcumin mixture of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100. The results were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, and solar simulator. The curcumin-chlorophyll dye mixture exhibited better light absorbance, bandgap energy, and efficiency than those of single dyes. The highest solar cell performance was achieved with a 75:25 mixture of chlorophyll and curcumin with electrical efficiency, short-circuit photocurrent density, open-circuit photovoltage, and fill factor values of 0.261%, 1.20 mA/cm2, 0.535 V, and 0.405, respectively.