Dye sensitized solar cell with lawsone dye using a ZnO photoanode: experimental and TD-DFT study

The spectral features of lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), an active component of the natural dye henna, are analyzed in ethanol using experimental and computational methods. The calculated UV-Vis absorption spectrum from the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) approach is compar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:RSC advances 2015-01, Vol.5 (23), p.17647-17652
Main Authors: Khadtare, Shubhangi S., Ware, Anuja P., Salunke-Gawali, Sunita, Jadkar, Sandesh R., Pingale, Subhash S., Pathan, Habib M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Density functional theory
Dyes
Energy conversion efficiency
Ethyl alcohol
Photovoltaic cells
Solar cells
Spectra
Zinc oxide
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Summary:The spectral features of lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), an active component of the natural dye henna, are analyzed in ethanol using experimental and computational methods. The calculated UV-Vis absorption spectrum from the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) approach is compared with the experimental results, allowing a detailed assignment of the UV-Vis spectral features based on molecular orbitals. Further, we have analyzed the light intensity dependent J – V characteristics and electrochemical impedance spectrum of a dye sensitized solar cell fabricated with lawsone and a ZnO photoanode. The photovoltaic data of the sensitizer adsorbed on ZnO films exhibited a reasonable power conversion efficiency, i.e. 0.68% at 26 mW cm −2 light intensity.
ISSN:2046-2069
2046-2069
DOI:10.1039/C4RA14620D