Comparison Study of Natural Dye Sensitisers in Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells

This work explored the performance and characterisation of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) based on sustainable dyes, as compared to traditionally applied dyes consisting of metal compounds. Several natural sources were used to extract the dye, including mangosteen, thyme, coriander, spearmint, ginger, and papaya. The samples were investigated, and a comparison was made between the performance of each dye. The ruthenium sensitised control sample yielded a Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) of 3.9642% with a Fill Factor (FF) of 69.434%. Among natural dye sensitisers anthocyanin pigment-rich dye from mangosteen performed the best with PCE and FF of 0.7677% and 68.55%, respectively. Other natural dye-sensitised samples all depicted PCE < 0.3% but relatively close FF, ranging from 50% to around 70%.