title: Performance of dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated with extracts from fruits of ivy gourd and flowers of red frangipani as sensitizers.
abstract: Natural dyes extracted from fruits of ivy gourd and flowers of red frangipani were used as sensitizers to fabricate dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) studies indicated the presence of β-carotene in the fruits of ivy gourd and anthocyanins in the flowers of red frangipani. The extract of the flowers of red frangipani exhibits higher photosensitized performance compared to the fruits of ivy gourd and this is due to the better charge transfer between the dyes of flowers of red frangipani and the TiO(2) photoanode surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605 014, India.
authors.forename: Vinoth
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
authors.forename: Subbaiah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manoharan
authors.forename: Sambandam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anandan
authors.forename: Ramaswamy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murugan
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000737:chemistry; D029062:Apocynaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D019662:Cucurbitaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010777:Photochemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D004396:Coloring Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019207:beta Carotene; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium