DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL USING USED SEMICONDUCTOR GLASS AND NATURAL DYE: TOWARDS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY CHALLENGE

Solar energy is an abundant and accessible source of renewable energy available on earth, and many types of photovoltaic (PV) devices like organic, inorganic, and hybrid cells have been developed to harness the energy. Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is considered to be one of the most promising technological developments in the field of Solar Cells. The nanocrystalline thin films like TiO2 have various applications, among them dye-sensitized solar cells are more promising and low-cost alternative to conventional inorganic photovoltaic devices. We have sensitized TiO2 nanocrystalline thin films with the natural dye anthocyanin and malvidin- 3-fructoside from raspberry and grape fruits, respectively. In this work we have also reported the interaction between the semiconductor and the dye as natural photosensitizer and studied its sensitization and Photo electrochemical activities. Dye-sensitized solar cells produce electricity through electron transfer. Sunlight passes through the conductive glass electrode. We get the efficiency of summer and rainy season at room temperature 12.3942%, 11.7326% and the sunlight 16.5557%, 11.9735% respectively with series connection by using 19.3548 cm^2 surface area of dye-sensitized solar cell. The solar intensity was about 300 W/m^2 inside the room during the all measurements. This paper also provides a comprehensive understanding on the behaviors of TiO2 in DSSC from the conduction band shift and the mechanism of electron injection, transfer and recombination and a promising strategy to explore high efficiency DSSC