Third generation Solar cells

Cheaper solar cells from fruit dyes

WASHINGTON: Chemistry students at Rowan University (RU) in the US are developing a process by which dye from fruits can be used to create solar cells to capture the energy from the Sun.
The team plans to use dyes from fruits like blackberries, blueberries, oranges and grapes to create the solar cells, under guidance of Dr Darius Kuciauskas, an assistant professor of chemistry at RU.
Currently, commercially available solar cells are efficient and robust, but expensive to produce.
“To develop efficient and inexpensive solar cells, scientists are following the design of photosynthetic systems,” said Kuciauskas. “We are researching on the so-called ‘third-generation’ solar cells.”
The Rowan researchers are working to refine a process in which they extract dye from a range of fruit and blend it into a kind of scientific ‘smoothie’.
The process leaves the researchers with sugar and a dye. The components are then separated to obtain pure, brightly coloured dyes in an acidic solution.
From there, they place the dye on a conductive glass coated with a porous film of titanium dioxide, which bonds the dye to the glass.
Finally, they add iodine and potassium iodide electrolyte for dye regeneration.
When light hits the processed fruit dye on the glass, it “excites” the electrons, which mobilises or “frees” them. The electrons then travel to a conductive glass electrode, which, in turn, produces electricity.
According to Green, though there is less output from these organic solar cells than a traditional silicon cell, the production from fruit is quite cheap.
“Construction of the cells is so simple and inexpensive that anyone can build his or her own using fruit, white paint, iodine and glass,” said Antonelli. ANI