Impacts of temperature on the stability of tropical plant pigments as sensitizers for dye sensitized solar cells.
Natural dyes have become a viable alternative to expensive organic sensitizers because of their low cost of production, abundance in supply, and eco-friendliness. We evaluated 35 native plants containing anthocyanin pigments as potential sensitizers for DSSCs. Melastoma malabathricum (fruit pulp), Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (flower), and Codiaeum variegatum (leaves) showed the highest absorption peaks. Hence, these were used to determine anthocyanin content and stability based on the impacts of storage temperature. Melastoma malabathricum fruit pulp exhibited the highest anthocyanin content (8.43 mg/L) followed by H. rosa-sinensis and C. variegatum. Significantly greater stability of extracted anthocyanin pigment was shown when all three were stored at 4°C. The highest half-life periods for anthocyanin in M. malabathricum, H. rosa-sinensis, and C. variegatum were 541, 571, and 353 days at 4°C. These were rapidly decreased to 111, 220, and 254 days when stored at 25°C. The photovoltaic efficiency of M. malabathricum was1.16%, while the values for H. rosa-sinensis and C. variegatum were 0.16% and 1.08%, respectively. Hence, M. malabathricum fruit pulp extracts can be further evaluated as an alternative natural sensitizer for DSSCs.
Faculty of Science & Institute for Biodiversity & Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Tungku Link, Gadong, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam.
Aiman
A
Yusoff
Applied Physics Program, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Brunei Darussalam.
N T R N
0000-0002-5095-924X
NT
Kumara
Faculty of Science & Institute for Biodiversity & Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Tungku Link, Gadong, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam.
Andery
0000-0002-9514-0609
A
Lim
Applied Physics Program, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Brunei Darussalam.
Piyasiri
P
Ekanayake
Faculty of Science & Institute for Biodiversity & Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Tungku Link, Gadong, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam.
Kushan U
KU
Tennakoon