EXPLORING THE POTBNTIAL OF ARECA NUT (Areca cotechu) EXTRACTS AS SENSITIZER FOR DYE SENSITIZND SOLAR CELL: A SOLVENT.BASED STT]DY

Abstract

ye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) offer a promising avenue for sustainable and clean energy generation due to their low-cost fabrication and potential for utilizing natural dyes. This study investigates the influence of solvent selection on the performance of DSSCs sensitized with natural dye extracted from Areca nut (Areca catechu). DSSCs made with TiOz nanoporous semiconducting photoanode layer sensitized with natural dye extracted from areca nut using various solvents. An iodine-based electrolyte system with a redox couple of iodide/triiodide (HIa was used and Platinum (Pt) coated conductive glass substrate was used as a counter electrode and TiOz nanoparticles were prepared and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed good crystallinity and an anatase phase. A critical film thickness of TiOz was identified for effective adsorption of dye molecules. Various solvents were used for dye extraction, including acetonitrile and tert-butanol, acetone, ethanol, deionized water, chloroform, and toluene. The UV Visible spectroscopy studies shown that only polar solvents (acetonitrile and tert-butanol, acetone, ethanol, and deionized water) extract natural dyes with light absorption peaks observed between the wavelength4l2 nm and 580 nm. The J-V characteristic studies showed a maximum conversion efficiency of about 0.42% and 0.40oh obtained for the DSSC device prepared using acetone and ethanol as solvents with the main contributor is the short circuit current. Enhancement in the conversion efficiency and the performance can be owed to the critical thickness of the TiOz film and the degree of polarity of the solvent that were used to make the DSSC devices in this study.