Extraction, preparation and application of anthocyanin pigments from mulberry using polar solvent in various pH as photosensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of polar solvent acetone and ethanol towards Morus nigra L. (Mulberry) anthocyanin dye extraction and suitable solvent sensitization of the same extracted dye on mesoporous titanium dioxide (TiO2) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) applications. Polar extraction solvent, namely acetone, ethanol and combination of polar protic and polar aprotic solvent of acetone and ethanol which containing of 0.5% and 1% hydrochloric acid (HCl) were employed to extract anthocyanin natural dye from Mulberry. The dye extraction effectiveness and dye active component was analysed using-ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and fourier transform infrared. Then, the extracted dye sensitization over TiO2 was monitored with current-voltage characteristic to obtain the cell power conversion efficiency. The DSSCs equipped with Mulberry extraction achieved the conversion efficiency in ranged of 0.0003% to 0.30%. Open circuit voltage and current densities obtained ranged from 0.024 to 0.574 V and 0.0023 to 0.352 mAcm-2. The performance of the fabricated cells was investigated at various pH values in presence of acidic environment in Mulberry dye extractions. This work provide an insight into the importance of choosing a right medium for photosensitizer as well as the favourable solvent for mulberry anthocyanin dye adsorption on TiO2 photoanode.