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The effect of Spinacia )leracea dye absorption time on ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cells’ electrical performance

2022-12 , Kaiswariah Magiswaran , Ili Salwani Mohamad , Norsuria Mahmed , Mohd Natashah Norizan , Siti Norhafizah Idris , Zuraida Abal Abas

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have attracted much attention over the past 20 years due to their significance in energy conversion. However, the dye soaking time may significantly impact the efficacy of the photoanode semiconductor to carry the electronic charge to which the dye molecules adhere. An optimized dye soaking time may prevent the recombination of photo-excited electrons that are injected into the semiconductor of the DSSC. This study scrutinized the dependence of the zinc oxide (ZnO) photoanode soaking time of Spinacia oleracea (spinach) dye on the photocurrent-voltage characteristics. The ZnO film layer (photoanode) was prepared with commercial ZnO nanopowder and applied onto a fluorinedoped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate using the doctor blade method. The prepared DSSCs’ were subjected to a variety of characterizations, including current density-voltage (J-V) characterization, UV-visible characterization, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Xray diffraction (XRD). Comparing four variations of dye soaking time, ZnO-based DSSC photoanode soaked in the dye for an hour achieved an optimum efficiency of 0.03 %. This study proved that the efficiency of a DSSC can be improved by optimizing the dye soaking time.

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Electrical performance of Curcuma Longa extract dye using SnOâ‚‚-based photoanode dye-sensitized solar cell

2022-12 , Siti Norhafizah Idris , Ili Salwani Mohamad , Norsuria Mahmed , Mohd Natashah Norizan , Kaiswariah Magiswaran , Zuraida Abal Abas

Due to their low output costs, straightforward manufacturing, and high effectiveness, dyesensitized solar cell (DSSC) has a large following interest in the solar energy industry. Furthermore, due to its outstanding properties, tin oxide (SnO₂) is an appealing semiconducting material suitable as a photoanode in DSSCs. In this research, the photoelectrodes of DSSC were fabricated using commercial SnO₂ nanoparticles and sensitized with inorganic and organic dyes, N719 and Curcuma longa (turmeric) extract dye. On top of that, a platinum (Pt) counter electrode, iodide electrolyte and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate were used to fabricate the DSSC. The crystallographic structure and surface morphology of the SnO₂ nanopowder were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterizations respectively. In addition, UV-Visible and current density-voltage curves were used to analyze the optical properties of the photoanodes and the cell’s electrical performance. As a result, it was found that the DSSC fabricated with N719 dye exhibited higher efficiency in contrast with the turmeric extract dye with SnO₂ photoanodes.

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Charge recombination in zinc oxide-based dye-sensitized solar cell: a mini review

2021-12 , Kaiswariah Magiswaran , Mohd Natashah Norizan , Ili Salwani Mohamad , Norsuria Mahmed , Siti Norhafizah Idris , Sharizal Ahmad Sobri

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been studied widely due to its efficiency and the simplicity of manufacturing technology. Much research has been performed to improve the photovoltaic output parameters in DSSC by modifying the photoanode layers. The efforts to investigate DSSC mainly focus on how to increase light absorption, speed electron transport in circuits, and reduce charge recombination. This review discusses the process of charge recombination and the paths of occurrence in a DSSC. Recombination occurs when the electrons in the conduction band fall into the valance band holes and is considered an unnecessary process in DSSC. Due to the recombination process, the photocurrent and the photovoltage are reduced, leading to lower power conversion efficiency. Hence, the ways to overcome the charge recombination process were also discussed.

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Synthesis methods of tin oxide as photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cell performance- a short review

2021-12 , Siti Norhafizah Idris , Mohd Natashah Norizan , Ili Salwani Mohamad , Norsuria Mahmed , Kaiswariah Magiswaran , Sharizal Ahmad Sobri

This review focused on the synthesis methods of tin oxide (SnOâ‚‚) nanoparticles as a photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and how it impacts the performance. There are many different techniques and various nanoparticles were produced and usually characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine crystalline structure of SnOâ‚‚, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine the surface morphology and size details and J-V solar simulator to verify current-voltage characteristics. In summary, considering all the methods reviewed, sol-gel is reported as the best method to produce SnOâ‚‚ nanoparticles for DSSC fabrication with the highest efficiency recorded of 3.96%.