Dye-sensitized solar cell using natural dyes as sensitizers

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is a new class of green photovoltaic cell based on photosynthesis principle in nature. We fabricated the DSCs using ten natural dyes as sensitizers, which extracted from the materials existing in nature and our life, such as flowers, leaves, fruits, traditional Chinese medicines, and beverages. The photoelectrochemical performances of the DSCs based on the dyes showed that the open circuit voltages (Voc) varied from 0.49-0.69 V and the short circuit photocurrent densities (Jsc) were in the range of 0.74-2.69 mA/cm
²
. It is expected that the energy conversion efficiency can be further improved by introducing functional group and optimizing structure of natural dye.