A Study on the effect of dye and polymer nanocomposite electrolyte on the performance of natural dye sensitized solar cells

Natural Dye sensitized solar cells (NDSSCs) are environmentally and economically remarkable than ruthenium-based dye sensitized solar cells because they are nontoxic and cheap. However, the photo conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells based on natural dye is low. One of the ways to improve the DSSC performance is enhancing the conductivity of electrolyte used. In this paper, we study the effect of polymer nanocomposite electrolyte consists of Polyvinylidene fluoride and poly(tetrahydrofuran) (PVdF/PTHF/EC/KI/I-2) with three different ratios of nanofiller Manganese dioxide (n-MnO2). It was prepared by solution mixing method. The prepared polymer nanocomposite electrolyte were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopic techniques. The surface morphology and particle size of prepared n-MnO2 and polymer nanocomposite electrolyte were studied using high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The ionic conductivity of polymer nanocomposite electrolyte was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The natural quasi solid state dye-sensitized solar cell has been fabricated by using three different natural dye extracted from Beta vulgaris (beetroot), Hylocereus undatus (Dragon fruit) and Opuntia ficus-indica (prickly pear fruit) using PVdF/PTHF/EC/KI/I-2/n-MnO2 polymer nanocomposite electrolyte. The photo conversion efficiency was measured and compared. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.