Preparation of dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) from Malaysia tropical fruits extract of Averrhoa bilimbi (bilimbi), Tamarindus indica (tamarind) and Garcinia atroviridis (asam gelugor)

Abstract

Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is the third generation of solar cell that works by converting the photon from solar energy to electrical energy based on the sensitization of wide band gap semiconductors. Nowadays, the search for natural dye as a sensitizer in dye sensitized solar cell has become the trend due to the low-cost production and environmental friendliness. In this research, Malaysia’s tropical fruit namely Averrhoa bilimbi (bilimbi), Tamarindus indica (tamarind), and Garcinia atroviridis (Asam Gelugor) was studied as the sensitizer for dye sensitized solar cell. The fruits were diluted using ethanol in one week and then, the printing screen method was used in the preparation of dye sensitized solar cell. The research aims to determine the characteristic of natural dye extracted from Malaysia’s tropical fruit, the fruits extraction pH effect against a photovoltaic performance of dye sensitized solar cell and to compare natural dye with synthetic dye. It was discovered the mixed fruit extraction shows low pH value can produce the higher current and voltage reading which is 0.024mA and 0.54V