Mucuna Pruriens as Photo-Sensitizer in Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 27 - 32, 01.03.2018

Charity Segun Odeyemi , Ayodeji Oladiran Awodugba

Abstract

In dye sensitized solar (DSSC), the dye
sensitizer plays important role in absorbing sunlight and transporting
electrons into the conduction band of the semiconductor thus converting the
solar energy into electric energy by photovoltaic effect. This study focus on
the investigation made on the leaves and stem of Mucuna Pruriens extract as photosensitizers for dye sensitizer
solar cell (DSSC). The DSSC was based on titanium dioxide nanopowder as the
photoanode semiconductor material and potassium iodide solution as electrolyte.
The pigment was extracted from dry leaves and stem of Mucuna Pruriens in water, ethanol and acetone. The photo absorption
spectral of Mucuna Pruriens was
investigated in cold and hot extraction media. Dye sensitized solar cell was
fabricated using Michael Gratzel method. The cell was connected to a variable
external load and exposed to illumination at 100mW/m2. As the load
is varied, the short circuit current Isc
and the corresponding open circuit voltage Voc
were observed. An IV characteristics
was plotted and the fill factor and efficiency were computed as 0.8 and 0.37% for
Mucuna pruriens extracted in water,
0.88 and 1.16% for Mucuna pruriens
extracted in ethanol, 0.93 and 2.08% for Mucuna
pruriens extracted in acetone respectively. The pigment extracted in cold
acetone has the best light absorption and efficiency.  This study shows that Mucuna Pruriens has prospect as sensitizer in DSSC.

Keywords

Photosensitizer, Photoanode, Nanopowder, Mucuna Pruriens, Titanium dioxide

References

• Adedokun O., Titilope K. and Awodugba O. A. (2016): Review of natural dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). International journal of engineering technologies. 2 (2), 34-41.
• O’Regan B., Gratzel M. (2012): Solar energy in dye sensitized solar cell. Journal of photochem. Photobiol. 3, 126-133.
• Mehmood Umer, Rahman Saleem-ur, Harrabi Khalil, Hussein Ibnelwaleed A., and Reddy B. V. S (2014). Advances in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, (3) 7, 204
• Lung-Chien Chen, Chih-Hung Hsu, Po-Shun Chan, Xiuyu Zhang and Cing-Jhih Huang (2014). Improving the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells with TiO2/graphene/TiO2 sandwich structure. Nanoscale Research Letters (1) 9,380.
• Institute for Chemical Education ICE (2012): Nanocrystalline Solar Cell Manual. Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1101 University Avenue Madison, WI 53706 USA. 43
• Khalil Ebrahim Jasim (2011): Dye Sensitized Solar Cells - Working Principles, Challenges and Opportunities. (1) 84
• Kawakita Jin (2010): Trends of Research and Development of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Science and Technology Trend, (2) 35, 46
• Agbafor, K. N. and Nwachukwu, N. (2011): Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Property of Leaf Extracts of Vitex doniana and Mucuna pruriens. Biochemistry Research International, (2011), 4
• Biodun N. (1995): Dyes from plants, Jide publishing house Lagos, 88-89, 113-119.
• Awodugba A. O. and Ilayas A. O.(2013): Fabrication of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) using ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized from Zinc Nitrate Hexahydrate. Canadian Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, Academic Publishers, British Columbia (7) 3 2635-2638.
• Popoola V. A. (2015): The chemistry of colours in dyes and pigments. Wits Publishing Ltd. 48-51
• Christies R. M. (2001): Colour chemistry, Royal society of chemistry, UK 172-175