Fossil fuel derived GQD as a photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells

Title

Fossil fuel derived GQD as a photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells

Creator

Rao A.A.; Narendhiran S.; Balachandran M.

Description

Solar energy is an abundantly available renewable source, and several generations of photovoltaic cells have been developed for harnessing it. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are viable and potent solar energy harvesters. Sensitizer, a vital part of DSSC, has been researched for years. Alternatively, fossil fuel-Lignite is one of the world's least explored energy sources. Unfortunately, it has been used as a fuel for power generation and tagged as a pollutant. Therefore, in this study, we use lignite-derived graphene quantum dots (GQD) as a DSSC sensitizer and attempt to add value. GQDs with varied bandgaps were obtained and used as sensitizers, and a maximum PCE of 2.87 % was obtained. Additionally, GQD sensitizers were exposed to UV light for 48 h, and the fabricated device exhibited 2.90 % efficiency, showing the photostability of GQDs. Furthermore, the device showed a higher Rrec of 166.57 ?, substantiating the better performance of DSSC. Thus, sensitizers derived from lignite showed a novel use for feedstock previously used for combustion. 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Source

Materials Letters, Vol-357

Date

2024-01-01

Publisher

Elsevier B.V.

Subject

Fossil fuel; Nanoparticles; Sensitizer; Solar Energy Materials

Coverage

Rao A.A., Department of Physics and Electronics, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Karnataka, Bengaluru, 560029, India; Narendhiran S., Department of Physics and Electronics, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Karnataka, Bengaluru, 560029, India; Balachandran M., Department of Physics and Electronics, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Karnataka, Bengaluru, 560029, India

Rights

Restricted Access

Relation

ISSN: 0167577X; CODEN: MLETD

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2023.135692

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85179627418&doi=10.1016%2fj.matlet.2023.135692&partnerID=40&md5=78ee291cee77691369071ab577b157ee