Dye Sensitized Solar Cells from Natural Dye Red Sandal Wood

Abstract

Dye–sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are being of interest as a source of alternative energy that can be used to produce electricity. Dye–sensitized solar cells consist of the element of dye – sensitized that act as a light absorber and then convert photon energy int o electrical energy. Currently, dye – sensitized solar cells can be produced from natural products with low-cost and stem from different parts of the plant such as leaves flowers and fruits. The objective of this research is to study the dye–sensitized solar cells from natural dye Red Sandal wood that was extracted by acetone and was purified with dichloromethen and petroleum ether of pH between 1.3 2.6 4.8 7.2 and 9.8, respectively. The results showed that Red Sandal wood at pH 4.8 perform the best absorption of light at 450 nm of wavelength value. The values of the photocurrent and voltage were 3.46 mA.cm^-2 and 0.45 V, respectively. The value of fill factor (FF) was 0.60 and the efficiency was 0.94% which suited to develop in order to increase the efficiency of this kind of solar cells.