Running Head: Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Effective means of Dyeing Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Sean Uziel Tul-id

Frontiers of Science Institute

Word Count: 2,079

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
2
Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a new breakthrough concept in the world of

photovoltaic cells. Dye-sensitized solar cells are an organic alternative to the already

commercially wide-spread solar panels. DSSCs rely on anthocyanins, which are flavonoids

found in many plant foods, to create the photovoltaic effect. So far DSSCs are very hard to make

without sacrificing efficiency and lifespan, and so the focus of our study is improving upon the

process of making DSSCs, more specifically on how to dye the cell itself. Two procedures were

used to dye the dye-sensitized solar cells. They were shown by the use of a boiling reduction and

a crushing method. When testing, the aim in finding efficiency was to find a general curve

between voltage and current that can be correlated to a commercial photovoltaic cell.
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
3
Introduction

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been subjected to many experiments in an

attempt to replace the current solar cell technology for more than two decades. The current solar

cell technology has been found to be cost-inefficient. In other words, the amount of energy going

into fabricating these solar cells is not quite worth the energy harnessed. DSSCs are currently in

a similar state. Dye-sensitized solar cells have been proven to carry many downsides. For

example, most DSSCs are at around 11%-15% conversion efficiency as opposed to regular solar

cells, which have a higher conversion efficiency(Nazeeruddin, Baranoff, & Gratzel, 2011).

DSSCs have also been found to have a short lifespan. The electrolyte in the latter steps has been

found to leak, disabling the cell. However, if the electrolyte is sealed into the cell, the cell is

risking stability(Jasim, 2011). This research will be based around finding the most efficient

means of dying the dye-sensitized solar cell.

Anthocyanins, a type of natural dye, are going to be the subject of the experiment.

Anthocyanins may be found in blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and other flavonoids that

emit a red, purple, or blue color. The use of anthocyanins will be shown by the use of

blackberries in the experiment. The goal of using berries is to find if they are a feasible source to

extract anthocyanins in order to create a DSSC that can efficiently generate power. The dye itself

absorbs photons, which can later be turned into electricity. If indeed this is possible, newer

technology may be able to apply DSSCs to many energy-related applications. In the event that

these anthocyanins deplete quicker than expected, the concern is no longer a need for electricity,

but a need for a food source.

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
4
Richhariya, Kumar, Tekasakul, & Gupta(2016) explain the parameters of the DSSC. The

high costs, material, and environmental challenges are various obstacles for metal complex

(traditional) sensitizers. However, natural dye sensitizers are less costly, simple to extract,

abundant, and environmentally friendly. To trade off, efficiency and stability of DSSCs that use

metal complexes are considerably higher than natural dyes. Richhariya et al. encourages further

research on natural dyes to enhance the DSSC’s stability and efficiency. Therefore, it was

hypothesized that dye-sensitized solar cells have the potential to match the efficiency of

photovoltaic cells. There are a large number of studies of photovoltaic cells. However, since the

focus of this research is on dye-sensitized solar cells, these will not be reviewed in detail and will

only be referred to.

Photovoltaic cells convert the energy in light into electric potential energy using a

physical process called the photovoltaic effect. Carts-Powell(2004) describes the functionality of

photovoltaic cells: when photons hit the top surface of a photovoltaic cell, they travel into the

semiconductor until absorbed. If the photon's energy is at least as large as the material's energy

band gap between the conduction band and valence band, the energy from the photon creates an

electron-hole pair. Furthermore, the photon’s energy excites the valence band to then transfer

electrons from the valence band to the conduction band where the electrons may participate in

conduction.

The efficiency of a photovoltaic cell may be defined by the amount of light that can be

gathered to then generate power. To increase the efficiency, one may shine more light with a

concentrator, add coatings to reflect the unabsorbed light back into the system, or create

heterojunction cells that are made with different materials with different bandgaps and may be
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
5
more efficient at absorbing a variety of wavelengths(Carts-Powell, 2004). In a similar manner,

the purpose of using anthocyanins, as opposed to other various dyes, is to absorb more light.

Nazeeruddin, Baranoff, & Gratzel(2011) explain the need to replace fossil fuels with

renewable energy. In the efforts to harness the power of solar energy, photovoltaic technology

has been developed. However, photovoltaic technology was found to contain problems. Many of

the materials needed for photovoltaic technology have high costs. Not only that, but the materials

used, such as cadmium telluride(CdTe), are toxic and have a low natural abundance. In contrast,

newer technology, such as dye-sensitized solar cells, are considered low costing and, according

to Nazeeruddin et al. (2011), a “promising solution to solve the energy problem”. DSSCs

contain five components: a mechanical support with conductive oxides, a semiconductor film

(typically TiO​2​), a photon-absorbing sensitizer on the surface of the semiconductor, an

electrolyte with a redox mediator that has the ability to regenerate the oxidized dye, and a

counter electrode to regenerate the redox mediator. After various tests to confirm accuracy and

efficiency, it was concluded that DSSCs are a credible alternative to photovoltaic technology, yet

have the capacity to improve.

Methods and Materials

In the first experiment, a small rectangular piece of conductive glass was tested with a

multimeter to find the conductive side. In the process, the multimeter probes were placed on a

surface of the conductive glass to measure the resistance of the glass in order to determine which

side of the glass was conductive. Open-loop resistance occurs when there is no resistance, so the

glass should be flipped and checked again in this case. Transparent tape was applied around the

sides of the conductive area, leaving a smaller, unobscured rectangle in the middle. An amount
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
6
of titanium dioxide(TiO​2​) powder was taken, enough to cover the untreated area, and poured in a

beaker. The TiO​2​ powder was stirred and acetic acid was periodically added until the mixture

had a paint-like consistency. On the conductive glass that had not been covered with tape,

enough of the TiO​2 ​paste was dropped on a side of the revealed glass to be able to spread across.

With a flat surface, such as the side of the stirring rod, the paste was spread across the rest of the

conductive glass in an even coating. The paste was then allowed to dry for 10 minutes. While

waiting, a hot plate was set to its highest setting. Once the paste has had time to dry, the tape was

removed on all of the sides and was placed, paste side up, on the hot plate until a phase change

was observed. The TiO​2​ paste would turn from white, brown, and then back to white. The point

of heating the paste is to make the paste more porous to allow the dye to absorb, otherwise

known as sintering. The glass was then removed from the heat and was allowed to cool. Various

techniques were tested and used to extract and apply the dye. In the first instance, a blackberry

was manually crushed in a ziplock bag. To allow the berry juice to soak in the paste, a pipette

was used to take the juice and drop it onto the TiO​2 paste,
​ covering it completely. The glass was

then left to sit to let the dye set in. After ten minutes, deionized water and isopropyl alcohol were

used to wash off the excess dye to a waste beaker. KimWipes were then used to dab the cell dry

of deionized water and isopropyl alcohol. Another similarly sized conductive glass was covered

with soot by waving the conductive side over the flame from a candle until it appeared black.

Both conductive glasses were then put together with the conductive sides touching. The glasses

were offset on a side, making sure the anthocyanin dye was within both glasses, and the

assembly was clamped together with binder clips. Potassium iodide(KI) was used as an

electrolyte. A drop was placed on the edge of the offset to cover the paste and dye. To insert the
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
7
KI, the cell was held by the clips and, in an alternating pattern, the binder clips were opened and

closed until the electrolyte covered the whole interior. If more of the electrolyte was needed,

another drop may have been added.

In various experiments, other means of dying were tested. Similar instructions were

followed as the former procedure; however, the berries were instead reduced by boiling with

small amounts of water until the berries were able to be crushed easily. In other experiments, the

bag technique was repeated. As an alternative, the bag technique was used along with straining

through a coffee filter and very small amounts of water.

When applying the dyes, a few methods were tried. As explained, the dyes may have

been applied by a pipette. Also, the prepared glass itself could have been set into the bag with the

crushed berries.

To test the solar cells, a DC power supply, and multimeters were used. The power supply

was used to control the voltage and two multimeters were used to measure the voltage and

current. Negative current indicates that the cell is generating the current and that the cell is

indeed working. The room’s light was used to test the absorption of the cells to generate power.

As a control, commercial photovoltaic cells were tested.

Results

The photovoltaic cells described more of an exponential curve, showing that the voltage

to current was exponentially

related. As voltage incrementally

grows, the current increases in

larger values. The dye-sensitized

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
8
solar cells may now be compared relative to the traditional photovoltaic cells.

In a first experiment, the dye-sensitized solar cell showed a graph, Figure 2, depicting

more of a linear path. The research conducted may suggest some room for error, however, the

linear pathway was a start. The berries were reduced, as previously explained, and were pipetted

on. After many tries with placing

the glass in the bag, it was found

that the TiO​2​ paste chipped off very

easily, and could not capture the

dye as efficiently as the pipette

method. The pipette method was

used from then on.

Another test resulted very differently. When making the cells, the berry dye was

extracted by the use of the bag technique. This experiment used the vinegar. As shown in Figure

3, the cell was capable of creating a curve. Notably, the graphs are not to the same proportion,

which may misleadingly depict current efficiency.

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
9
At another attempt at the

bag method, similar results were

shown. However, Figure 4

provides more of a curve that is

closer to the photovoltaic cell

curve. Again, the graph is not to

the same scale as the photovoltaic

cell.

Discussions

To reiterate, the goal of testing dye-sensitized solar cells is to determine if these cells

have the capacity to have the efficiency of regular photovoltaic cells. If the DSSCs have the

capacity to function relatively similar to photovoltaic cells, DSSCs have the potential to match

the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. The aim of receiving a curve from the dye-sensitized solar

cell is to receive similar data that can indicate that the cell is functioning like the average

photovoltaic cell. The data suggest that dye-sensitized solar cells can function similarly to

photovoltaic cells, but may lack the efficiency that photovoltaic cells possess, let alone the

lifespan. The data also implies that squishing the berries to extract the dye was more effective

rather than reducing it with water.

Deviations in the research may result from the various uses of techniques or the varying

acetic acid. Gradually, the application of the dye moved to pipet the dye on the TiO​2​ paste. Due

to availability, the acetic acid varied over time from acetic acid, glacial acetic acid, and vinegar.
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
10
Now that dye-sensitized solar cells have been tested to maximize the efficiency of dying

the cell, future research may be conducted to optimize current and lifespan. The study conducted

only focused on the variances in cell dying techniques, and therefore was limited from other

efficiency tests. However, the study was able to optimize the dying technique for future

researchers to use and improve on.

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
11
Bibliography

Carts-Powell, Y. (2004). Photovoltaic Cell. In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), The Gale

Encyclopedia of Science (3rd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 3072-3075). Detroit, MI: Gale. Retrieved

from Gale Encyclopedia of Science.

Jasim, Khalil E. (2011). "Dye Sensitized Solar Cells - Working Principles, Challenges and

Opportunities.”

Nazeeruddin, M., Baranoff, E., & Gratzel, M. (2011, March 17). Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A

Brief Overview. In ScienceDirect.

Richhariya, G., Kumar, A., Tekasakul, P., & Gupta, B. (2016, November 25). Natural Dyes for

Dye Sensitized Solar Cell: A Review. In ScienceDirect. Retrieved from Summon.