Efficient dye-sensitized solar cells using red turnip and purple wild sicilian prickly pear fruits.
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were assembled by using the bougainvillea flowers, red turnip and the purple wild Sicilian prickly pear fruit juice extracts as natural sensitizers of TiO(2) films. The yellow orange indicaxanthin and the red purple betacyanins are the main components in the cocktail of natural dyes obtained from these natural products. The best overall solar energy conversion efficiency of 1.7% was obtained, under AM 1.5 irradiation, with the red turnip extract, that showed a remarkable current density (Jsc = 9.5 mA/cm(2)) and a high IPCE value (65% at lambda = 470 nm). Also the purple extract of the wild Sicilian prickly pear fruit showed interesting performances, with a Jsc of 9.4 mA/cm(2), corresponding to a solar to electrical power conversion of 1.26%.
Calogero
Giuseppe
G
CNR, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Sede di Messina, Salita Sperone, C. da Papardo, I-98158 Faro Superiore Messina, Italy.
Di Marco
Gaetano
G
CNR, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Sede di Messina, Salita Sperone, C. da Papardo, I-98158 Faro Superiore Messina, Italy.
Cazzanti
Silvia
S
Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
Caramori
Stefano
S
Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
Argazzi
Roberto
R
c/o Dipartimento di Chimica, Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF-CNR), Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
Di Carlo
Aldo
A
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettronica, Università di Roma 2, Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy.
Bignozzi
Carlo Alberto
CA
Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
D029688:Brassica napus / Q000737:chemistry*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D031989:Pyrus / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy; D013816:Thermodynamics
D004396:Coloring Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts