Improving the Performance of Azadirachta Indica - Natural Sensitizer with Different Solvents for DSSC

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells are expected to be used for future clean energy and mainly depends on the dye used as sensitizer. In DSSCs, a sensitizer plays a key role in absorbing sunlight and transforming solar energy into electric energy. Recently, most of the researchers in this field use Ruthenium complex as dye sensitizer. But the process to synthesize the complex is complicate, costly and undesirable from the point of view of environmental aspect. Another approach is to use natural dyes, which is environmentally friendly, nontoxic, biodegradable, and cheaper compared to the synthetic dyes. The absorption spectrum of the dye and the anchorage to the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles are important parameters in determining the efficiency of the cell. This article presents the experimental data of azadirachta indica dyes are extracted with different solvents used as sensitizers in DSSC and analyzed the UV-VIS absorption spectra, FTIR technique. The surface characteristics of TiO2 thin film have been analyzed using SEM images for improving the absorption into the substrate.