title: Efficient dye-sensitized solar cells using red turnip and purple wild sicilian prickly pear fruits.
abstract: 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%.
authors.affiliation: CNR, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Sede di Messina, Salita Sperone, C. da Papardo, I-98158 Faro Superiore Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calogero
authors.affiliation: CNR, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Sede di Messina, Salita Sperone, C. da Papardo, I-98158 Faro Superiore Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Marco
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cazzanti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caramori
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Argazzi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettronica, Università di Roma 2, Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Carlo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bignozzi
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts