Lifespan of Aspilia africana Dye Sensitised Solar Cell Using Benzoic Acid
Boyo Adenike *
Department of Physics, Lagos State University, Ojo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Kesinro Olasunkanmi
Department of Physics, Lagos State University, Ojo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Oseni Olanrewaju
Department of Physics, Lagos State University, Ojo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aspilia africana flower dye was extracted by using ethanol as solvent. Absorbance of the extracted dye were measured at different wavelengths and used in fabricating Dye sensitized solar cells. The mixture of dye with TiO2 indicates changes in absorbance values and the phytochemical screening shows the presence of anthocyanin and flavonoids in the plant. Benzoic acid was mixed with the extracted dye to prolong the effectiveness of the dye and the solar cell was observed for a period of time. The sintered film for the control cell was characterized by FTIR and reported. We noticed that benzoic acid has a variety impacts on life span and electrical characteristics of the dye Sensitized solar cell. This can be concluded that the addition of benzoic acid can increase the life span of DSSC.
Keywords: Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), Titanium Dioxide (TiO2), Aspilia africana flowers, benzoic acid.