Natural dye -sensitized mesoporous ZnO solar cell

Abstract

Natural dye-sensitized solar cells (N-DSSCs) were assembled using chlorophyll sensitized mesoporous ZnO (based on FTO) as the photoanode and platinum plate as the cathode. The natural dyes (chlorophyll) were extracted from spinach by simple procedure. The absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectrum of chlorophyll were studied. Mesoporous ZnO (m-ZnO) applied to the N-DSSCs was synthesized through hydrothermal method. The structures and morphologies were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and diffuse reflection. The results indicated that the samples had an average pore size of 17 nm and the m-ZnO was hexagonal wurtzite structure. The performances of the N-DSSCs were investigated under AM 1.5G illumination. The Voc of the N-DSSCs was about 480mv, and the Isc was about 470μA. The performance of the N-DSSCs could be further improved by adjusting its structure.