Investigating Calotropis Procera natural dye extracts and PDOT:PSS hole transport material for dye-sensitized solar cells

A. Alami¹²*, A. Alachkar³, S. Alasad¹, M. Alawadhi⁴⁵, D. Zhang¹²,H. Aljaghoub⁶ and A. Elkeblawy⁷

¹University of Sharjah, Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, 27272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
²University of Sharjah, Centre for Advanced Materials Research, 27272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
³American University of Sharjah, Department of Chemical Engineering, 26666 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
⁴American University of Sharjah, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 26666 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
⁵Dubai Police G.H.Q., Dubai, United Arab Emirates
⁶University of Sharjah, Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, 27272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
⁷University of Sharjah, Applied Biology Department, 27272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
*Correspondence: aalalami@sharjah.ac.ae

Abstract:

In this work, natural dye extracts from Calotropis Procera are used as the main dye-sensitizer in solar cells. The Calotropis plant is a non-food item capable of surviving the harsh climate of the United Arab Emirates. Its incorporation into dye-sensitized solar cells is tested by constructing various cells, whose performance was also compared to that of more common chlorophyll-based dye extracts (i.e. spinach) as well as compared against a baseline cell sensitized with a synthetic ruthenium dye. The performance of the Calotropis-based cells was in general better than those with other natural sensitizers, but of course scored lower efficiency results when compared to cells built with synthetic dyes (0.075% compared to 5.11%). The advantage in using a natural sensitizer include facile extraction and preparation, low cost and abundance, since the Calotropis source has no competing applications in terms of food, livestock feed, etc. The figure-of-merit of cell output vs. cost for such cells makes them a good contender for further research and development effort to overcome the obvious drawbacks of stability and service longevity. Adding a hole-transport material to the cells in the form of PEDOT:PSS was also attempted to assess the enhancement it could provide to the cells. This did not yield the desired results and more experiments have to be done to better understand the interaction of each added layer to the original cell design.

Key words:

Calotropis Procera, dye-sensitized solar cells, natural sensitizer, third generation photovoltaics

Assessment of Calotropis natural dye extracts on the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

A.H. Alami¹²*, K. Aokal², D. Zhang¹², M. Tawalbeh¹, A. Alhammadi¹ and A. Taieb¹

¹University of Sharjah, Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering Department, AE2727272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
²University of Sharjah, Centre for Advanced Materials Research, AE27272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
*Correspondence: aalalami@sharjah.ac.ae

Abstract:

This work presents the construction and testing of solar cells sensitized with natural dyes extracted from plants indigenous to the desert. Calotropis plants are self-sufficient as they grow in very harsh environments, and yet are not consumed by humans or livestock due to their irritating agents to the skin and eyes. The energy generators of these plants are the leaves, which are crushed and processed to produce the dye solution. Also, the Calotropis leaves are covered in a white powder that is thought to aid in mitigating the heat by scattering incident radiation. This powder material is examined and added to the dye as it proved advantageous for the overall cell efficiency, which reached 0.214% compared with 0.108% for cells with no powder. The produced cells are also compared with ones sensitized by spinach, another common natural sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells, and the performance proved to be significantly better. The fact that Calotropis is a non-food plant is an added advantage to utilizing it as a dye source, along with its intrinsic heat resistance that allows it to survive the harsh desert conditions all year round.

Key words: