Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Natural Dyes Extracted from Three Acalypha Leaf Species

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Chinese explanation / 中文解读

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Original abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted considerable attention as cost-effective alternatives to conventional solar cells; however, the use of expensive and toxic synthetic dyes remains a major challenge. Natural pigments from plants offer a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative due to their availability, low cost, and broad light absorption properties. In this study, natural pigments were extracted from the leaves of three Acalypha species: Acalypha torta, Acalypha onata, and Acalypha wilkesiana, and used as sensitizers in TiO₂-based dye-sensitized solar cells. These pigments exhibited strong and broad absorption across the visible region (400–700 nm) and showed good attachment to the TiO₂ surface. The fabricated DSSCs produced open-circuit voltages in the range of 0.36–0.62 V and short-circuit current densities between 1.7 and 2.9 mA cm⁻². Their incident photon-to-current conversion efficiencies (IPCE) ranged from 11% to 27%. Among the three extracts, Acalypha wilkesiana gave the highest performance, indicating its superior photosensitizing ability and potential as an effective natural sensitizer for DSSC applications.

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