Effect of TiO2 Photoanode Films on the Performance of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell with Rauvolfia Vomitoria Fruit Extract

Abstract

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were investigated using Rauvolfia vomitoria fruit extract as natural sensitized of TiO2 thin film. The cells were evaluated for various thicknesses of photoanode. The optical properties were analysed with UV-Vis spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The morphology of the TiO2 surface was observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Energy levels were estimated by cyclic voltammetry, in the presence of tetrabutalamonium tetrafluoroborate (TBATFB), in anhydrous acetonitrile solution (ACN). The results showed that the optimum thickness is 10 μm which achieved a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 0.1 mA/cm² and an open voltage (Voc) of 0.65 V while the conversion efficiency ) is 0.055%.