Harnessing the potential of selected plant pigments in dye-sensitized solar cells: The current status

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) represent the third generation of solar cells which have revolutionized sustainable energy research owing to the fact that they act as a renewable energy source integrated with employment of environmentally benign light-harvesting pigments as sensitizers and cost-effective materials for manufacture. This review compiles the exploration of plant pigments with a potential for use as photosensitizers in solar cells, focusing on their isolation and the factors that affect their physicochemical properties to identify those pigments providing the optimum performance. Newly reported considera-tions of flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, betalains, and chlorophyll, as light-harvesting pigments are summarized. Further, outcomes of the solar cell efficiency obtained by various semiconductors and types of electrolytes are compared and discussed. The main goal of this review is to highlight the significance of naturally obtained light-harvesting pigments, which will be used as the promising class of sensitizers in DSSC.