Analysis performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) of single and double mixed natural dye as photosensitizers

The performance of DSSC with single and double mixed dyes as photosensitizers were studied. The selected dyes were extracted from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) leaves and Malabar fruit (Melastoma malabathricum L.). There were three kinds of dyes applied in the DSSC (crude chlorophyll of water hyacinth, crude anthocyanin of Malabar fruit, mixture of chlorophyll and anthocyanin). The single dye of chlorophyl and anthocyanin had bandgaps energy of 1.75 eV and 1.99 eV, respectively, and the bandgap energy of the mixed dye was 2.25 eV. The mixed dyes resulted in a broader spectrum of absorption wavelength which allows more absorption of sunlight to produce energy. The efficiency values of single dye of chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and the mixed dye were 3x10-3 %, and 2.4x10-2 %, and 4.9x10-2, respectively.