Electrical Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Trisodium Copper Chlorophyllin and Acidified Chlorophyllin Sensitizers

Muhammad Fikri Zaidi; Salsabila Ahmad; Muhammad Afiq Muzammil Muhamad Zaidi; Muhammad Syarhabil Ahmad; Mohd Natashah Norizan

doi:10.58915/aset.v5i2.3531

Authors

Muhammad Fikri Zaidi Universiti Malaysia Perlis
Salsabila Ahmad Universiti Malaysia Perlis
Muhammad Afiq Muzammil Muhamad Zaidi Universiti Malaysia Perlis
Muhammad Syarhabil Ahmad Universiti Malaysia Perlis
Mohd Natashah Norizan Universiti Malaysia Perlis

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58915/aset.v5i2.3531

Keywords:

Chlorophyllin, Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Photosensitizer, Power conversion efficiency (PCE)

Abstract

A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is an emerging photovoltaic technology classified in the same group as other third-generation solar cells within the thin-film family. Thin-film DSSCs consist of a titanium dioxide (TiO₂) electrode that acts as the photoanode, a dye-sensitizer adsorbed on the TiO₂ film, an electrolyte layer, and a counter electrode. The main purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the performance of trisodium copper chlorophyllin (SCC) and acidified chlorophyllin (AC) as sensitizers in DSSCs. AC was derived from SCC by protonation of the carboxylate group to the carboxylic group using sulphuric acid, and the reaction was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. From the electrical characterization of the device, SCC showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.08% at the optimum concentration of 0.3mM; meanwhile, AC showed a PCE of 0.07% at the optimum concentration of 0.075mM. Furthermore, SCC showed a dye loading of 0.24 g/g TiO₂, and AC showed a dye loading of 0.053 g/g TiO₂ at their respective optimum concentrations. Based on the results, it shows that SCC is a superior sensitizer compared to AC.

References

[1] Lu, Z., Wang, Z., Zhou, Y., Lu, X. Nonlinear dissipative devices in structural vibration control: A review. Journal of Sound and Vibration, vol 423, issue 1 (2018) pp. 18-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsv.2018.02.052

[2] Markos, F. M., Sentian, J. Potential of solar energy in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah: An estimate using a photovoltaic system model. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, vol 710, issue 1 (2016) p. 012032. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/710/1/012032

[3] National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Best research-cell efficiency chart. (2024)

[4] Solak, E. K., Irmak, E. Advances in organic photovoltaic cells: a comprehensive review of materials, technologies, and performance. RSC Advances, vol 13, issue 18 (2023) pp. 12244-12269. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA01454A

[5] Mozaffari, S., Nateghi, M. R., Zarandi, M. B. An overview of the challenges in the commercialization of dye sensitized solar cells. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol 71, (2017) pp. 675-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.096

[6] Kabir, F., Manir, S., Bhuiyan, M. M. H., Aftab, S., Ghanbari, H., Hasani, A., Adachi, M. M. Instability of dye-sensitized solar cells using natural dyes and approaches to improving stability–an overview. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, vol 52, (2022) p. 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2022.102196

[7] Sharma, K., Sharma, V., Sharma, S. S. Dye-sensitized solar cells: fundamentals and current status. Nanoscale Research Letters, vol 13, issue 1 (2018) p. 381. https://doi.org/10.1186/S11671-018-2760-6

[8] Tributsch, H., Calvin, M. Electrochemistry of excited molecules: photo‐electrochemical reactions of chlorophylls. Photochemistry and Photobiology, vol 14, issue 2 (1971) pp. 95-112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-1097.1971.tb06156.x

[9] Tributsch, H. Reaction of excited chlorophyll molecules at electrodes and in photosynthesis. Photochemistry and Photobiology, vol 16, issue 4 (1972) pp. 261-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-1097.1972.tb06297.x

[10] O'Regan, B., Grätzel, M. A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films. Nature, vol 353, issue 6346 (1991) pp. 737–740. https://doi.org/10.1038/353737a0

[11] Nazeeruddin, M. K., Baranoff, E., Grätzel, M. Dye-sensitized solar cells: A brief overview. Solar Energy, vol 85, issue 6 (2011) pp. 1172-1178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2011.01.018

[12] Mahmood, A., Hu, J. Y., Xiao, B., Tang, A., Wang, X., Zhou, E. Recent progress in porphyrin-based materials for organic solar cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol 6, issue 35 (2018) pp. 16769-16797. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8TA06392C

[13] Pareek, S., Sagar, N. A., Sharma, S., Kumar, V., Agarwal, T., González-Aguilar, G. A., Yahia, E. M. Fruit and vegetable phytochemicals: chemistry and human health. Wiley-Blackwell, vol 29, (2017) p. 269. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119158042.ch14

[14] Chaturvedi, D., Singh, K., Singh, V. Therapeutic and pharmacological aspects of photodynamic product chlorophyllin. European Journal of Biological Research, (2019) https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2638869

[15] Solomons, G., Fryhle, C., Snyder, S. Organic Chemistry, 11th ed. John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd. (2014)

[16] Calogero, G., Citro, I., Crupi, C., Di Marco, G. Absorption spectra and photovoltaic characterization of chlorophyllins as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, vol 132, (2014) pp. 477-484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2014.04.196

[17] Masud, Kim, H. K. Redox shuttle-based electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells: comprehensive guidance, recent progress, and future perspective. ACS Omega, vol 8, issue 7 (2023) pp. 6139-6163. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c06843

[18] Okello, A., Owuor, B. O., Namukobe, J., Okello, D., Mwabora, J. Influence of concentration of anthocyanins on electron transport in dye sensitized solar cells. Heliyon, vol 7, issue 3 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06571

[19] Tefashe, U. M., Rudolph, M., Miura, H., Schlettwein, D., Wittstock, G. Photovoltaic characteristics and dye regeneration kinetics in D149-sensitized ZnO with varied dye loading and film thickness. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, vol 14, issue 20 (2012) pp. 7533-7542. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2cp40798a

[20] Hardani, H., Soonmin, H., Syahidi, K., Zaidah, A., Sulistiyana, S., Hidayatulloh, A., Angraini, L. M. Optimizing solar power: the impact of N719 dye concentration on DSSC efficiency with TiO2 nanoparticles. Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Natural Science, vol 5, issue 1 (2025) pp. 254-266. https://doi.org/10.47352/jmans.2774-3047.245

[21] Narayan, M. R. Review: Dye sensitized solar cells based on natural photosensitizers. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol 16, issue 1 (2012) pp. 208–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.148

[22] Sajjad, S. Performance evaluation of natural dye-sensitized solar cells: A comparison of Density Functional Theory and experimental data on chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and cocktail dyes as sensitizers. ACS Applied Electronic Materials, vol 6, issue 3 (2024) pp. 1850–1860. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.3c01618

[23] Mathew, S., Yella, A., Gao, P., Humphry-Baker, R., Curchod, B. F., Ashari-Astani, N., Tavernelli, I., Rothlisberger, U., Nazeeruddin, M. K., Grätzel, M. Dye-sensitized solar cells with 13% efficiency achieved through the molecular engineering of porphyrin sensitizers. Nature Chemistry, vol 6, issue 3 (2014) pp. 242–247. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1861