Fruit extract dyes as photosensitizers in solar cells

Two natural dyes containing anthocyanin are extracted from sour and sweet pomegranate from Iran. Spectrophotometric evaluation of the natural dyes in solution and on a TiO2 substrate was carried out to assess changes in the status of the natural dyes. The results show that the natural dyes indicate buthochromic shift on the TiO2 substrates. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are fabricated to determine the photovoltaic behaviour of each dye and the mixture of extracts. Such evaluations demonstrate conversion efficiencies of 0.73%, 1.57% and 0.91% for sour pomegranate, sweet pomegranate and mixed extract respectively. Natural dyes are suitable alternative photosensitizers for DSSCs.