STUDY, FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MANGIFERA INDICA BASED DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL

Abstract

The study, fabrication and characterization of Mangifera Indica based dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) were carried out. Mangifera Indica pigment was extracted using 5g of Mangifera Indica leaves soaked in 10 mls of methanol for 72 hours. The microscopic glass substrates were dipped into the solution to have the thin film of about 1 micro.metre thickness. The UV-Visible spectrophotometry analysis was performed on the film to measure the percentage transmittance, and Beer-Lambert law was employed to estimate the absorbance of the Mangifera Indica film at each wavelength in the visible to near-infrared region of the solar spectrum. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) analyses were carried out to determine the functional groups and elemental compositions of the Mangifera Indica photosensitizer respectively. The pH of the pigment was investigated using pH meter. The Mangifera Indica based DSSC was fabricated using Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass substrate, Mangifera Indica pigment as photosensitizer, Titanium dioxide (TiO2) paste, graphite paste and iodide/triodide electrolyte. The result of UV-Visible spectrophotometry analysis shows the transmittance ranges of 55% to 78% and absorbance of 0.1 a.u to 0.35 a.u in the visible to near infrared region of the solar spectrum. The pH meter displayed the pH of 3.6 for the Mangifera Indica pigment. The AAS analysis confirmed 0.1 mg/L each for iron (Fe) , zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg) and 0.2 mg/L of sodium (Na) respectively. The FTIR analysis confirmed the O-H, C=C, O-H and C-H stretching at 3270 cm-1, 1636 cm-1, 1261 cm-1, 1084 cm-1 and C-H and C-Br bending at 1019 cm-1 and 661 cm-1 respectively. The maximum open circuit voltage generation of 132 mV was estimated for the Mangifera Indica based DSSC using digital multimeter