Enhancement of efficiency of natural dye on harvesting solar energy by incorporated montmorillonite nanoparticle

Abstract

Natural dye is widely considered by researchers for replacing the synthetic dye. The sensitizer in dye sensitizes solar cells on account of its containing double bond group in their molecule structure and the promising ability for donating and accepting an electron. In this research, we evaluate the performance of incorporated montmorillonite clay and polystyrene sulfonate to improve the efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell. Montmorillonite and polystyrene sulfonate were doped into TiO2 and then poured to the surface of ITO glass. Composite montmorillonite-polystyrene/TiO2 was then immersed in anthocyanin as a natural dye that was extracted from red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus). Performance functions of montmorillonite-polystyrene sulfonate, like a doped in dye-sensitized solar cell, were evaluated by determination of photoconversion efficiency. Thermal gravimetric analysis was employed to evaluate the thermal stability of montmorillonite-polystyrene sulfonate. It was observed that the addition of montmorillonite-polystyrene sulfonate increased photoconversion efficiency.