Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) by Using a Natural Pigment from Microalgae

Photovoltaic devices such as dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC), are an interesting alternative source of renewable energy because they convert solar radiation into electric current. In these solar cells, the use of natural pigments as sensitizers represents complete biodegradation, simple preparation technique, low cost, non-toxic pigments, high reduction of use of noble metals and cost of chemical synthesis. A natural pigment obtained from the microalga Scenedesmus obliquus was tested as sensitizer of a DSSC. The absorption characteristics and the photoelectrochemical parameters were studied to determine the photoconversion efficiency of the cell sensitized with this pigment. The sensitization was carried out by the pipetting technique and the photovoltaic efficiency was obtained under standard conditions under 1 sun illumination (AM 1.5G at 100mW/cm 2 ). The dye-sensitized solar cell was assembled as a sandwich scheme, where the photoelectrode faced the platinum counter electrode and an iodide electrolyte solution was between them. The energy conversion efficiency reached was 0.064%, the fill factor 69.3%, open circuit voltage 0.502 V and short-circuit photocurrent density 0.185 mA cm -2 . According to these results, the extract obtained from the microalga Scenedesmus obliquus shows promise as a sensitizer for solar cells.