Influence of dyes and dying process parameters on the electrical properties of dye-sensitized solar cells

As a cost-effective alternative to silicon-based solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been subjects of research for more than two decades. Currently, re-searchers attempt to increase the efficiency and durability of the DSSCs to ensure economic use. They focus on the optimization of the manufacturing process, the dye, the electrolyte and the semiconductor layer. In this work, the dying process of the cells was taken into focus. The aim was to check several natural dyes for their suita-bility in DSSCs. The premise for the choice of dyes was that they had to be cost-efficient, i.e. not purified in chemical processes, and non-toxic. The outcome shows that the cells which were dyed with a dye of the group of anthocyanins, such as for-est-fruit tea or maqui-berry extract, had the best efficiencies. Additionally, the dying times and dye concentrations were found to influence the DSSC performance in an unexpected way, with higher concentrations necessitating longer dying durations.