Volume 11 Issue 3 ( September 2024)

This article discussed the performance of the combinations of chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and betalain dyes and their mixture doped with Ag metal to broaden the light absorption spectrum and enhance the efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). The anthocyanin (A), betalain (B), and chlorophyll (C) dyes were extracted from natural sources of dragon fruit peel, bougainvillea glabra flowers, and cassava leaves, respectively. The dye solutions in the manufactured DSSCs were modified by mixing two and three dyes, including AB, AC, BC, and ABC, and doping Ag metal in ABC dye (ABC/Ag). The ABC/Ag dye revealed the highest conductivity of 0.534 Ω-1 m-1. The bandgap energy of the TiO2 photoanode immersed in ABC/Ag was reduced by 3.0 eV. The efficiency values of the DSSCs manufactured with dyes of A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, and ABC were 0.263%, 0.24%, 0.125%, 0.435%, 0.387%, 0.299%, and 0.602%, respectively. It revealed that the mixtures of two and three dyes provided more light absorption, enhancing the efficiency. Meanwhile, the value for the DSSC with ABC/Ag exhibited the highest conversion efficiency of 0.742%. It denoted that the conductive nature of Ag metal added in the dye mixture played a role in improving the DSSC efficiency.

Keywords: anthocyanin, betalain, chlorophyll, Ag metal doping, dye absorption, bandgap energy, DSSC performance