2022 Volume 101 Issue 6 Pages 114-121
In this study, we evaluated the performance of sol-gel method-deposited titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based DSSCs with three different organic dyes extracted from hibiscus flower’s foliage, plum and eggplant peels under laboratory conditions (light irradiation of 1 kW/m2 and an ambient temperature of 25 °C). As the hibiscus-based dye DSSC exhibited the best stability in terms of maximum electric power output and efficiency, and since humidity in Japan is almost uniform, we decided to test the aforementioned DSSC under real conditions in Morocco -deemed a sunny country with varying weather conditions from one region to another- in terms of output electric currentvoltage characteristics and stability. Besides, and for the sake of comparison with other silicon PV, the performance of a 0.75 Wp m-silicon solar cell was also assessed. The hibiscus flower’s petals-based dye sol-gel DSSC was found to be competitive in terms of output voltage and six times less photocurrent-generative than the silicon one. Also, it was made clear that the DSSC’s stability is function of the evaporation rate of the liquid-state electrolyte (loss of iodine) that strongly depends on the ambient temperature and the relative air humidity.
