Results in Physics 14 (2019) 102474

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Results in Physics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rinp

Development of dye-sensitized solar cell based on combination of natural T

dyes extracted from Malabar spinach and red spinach
⁎
F. Kabira,d, M.M.H. Bhuiyanb, , M.S. Manira, M.S. Rahamanb, M.A. Khana, T. Ikegamic
a
Institute of Radiation and Polymer Technology, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box 3787, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
b
Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box 3787, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
c
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering & Computer Science, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
d
Institute of Energy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Herein, natural green and red dyes have been extracted from Malabar spinach (Basella alba) and red spinach
Combination of dyes (Amaranthus dubius), respectively, and were used as a sensitizer source for TiO2 photoanode based dye sensitized
Co-sensitization solar cell (DSSC). The cell efficiency of the developed DSSC sensitized with single individual green and red dyes
Natural dye were obtained, 0.466% and 0.531%, respectively. To improve the cell efficiency of natural dye-based DSSC,
Green dye
natural green and red dyes have been combined at 5 different volume ratios, to find the optimum combination of
Red dye
dyes. From the UV–Vis absorption spectrum, the combination of dyes showed cumulative absorption properties
of both single individual dyes. DSSC co-sensitized with the optimum combination of dyes (20% green + 80%
red) exhibited the best performance of open circuit voltage of 385 mV, short circuit current of 4.273 mA, fill
factor of 0.515 and the highest cell efficiency of 0.847% under 100 mW/cm2 illumination at AM 1.5G condition.
The optimised cell efficiency was found 0.847% which is almost 1.82 and 1.6 times higher than that of the single
individual green and red dye-sensitized DSSC’s cell efficiency.

Introduction into three different generations: (a) first generation: Si wafer-based

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the demand for energy has
been increasing day by day. Carbon-based fossil fuels such as coal, oil
and natural gas are considered as main energy resources consumed
today. Almost 90% of electricity is generated from fossil fuel. A day
without electricity the whole society would crumble [1]. Not only
electricity but also the thermal energy for industrial and domestic uses
are mostly generated from fossil fuel based energy resources. Problem
with the production of energy from fossil fuel is, it is not sustainable
moreover the resources are depleting at a rapid rate. Additionally,
consuming fossil fuels results in environmental issues such as global
climate change, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, water pollution, air
pollution, land pollution, maritime pollution etc. [2]. Using sustainable
energy resources viz. solar energy, wind power, hydropower, wave
energy, tidal energy, biomass, biofuel, and geothermal energy is con-
sidered as a potential alternative for traditional fossil fuel [3]. In con-
trast to traditional fossil fuel, renewable energy resources are not
concentrated in a few countries but exist over the wide geographical
area [4]. Among all other renewable energy resources, solar energy is
easily extractable by a photovoltaic (PV) system. The PV cell is divided
solar cell, (b) second generation: CIGS, CdTe, GaAs and (c) third gen-
eration: quantum dot solar cells, organic solar cells, multi-junction solar
cell, dye-sensitized solar cells. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)
otherwise known as Gratzel solar cell is a third-generation solar cell.
Since the early invention of a new type of photovoltaic system by
O’Regan and Gratzel [5], DSSC has been attracted a lot of attention
because of the simple fabrication process, environmentally benign, low
assembling cost, good cell performance under low light condition
[3,6–8]. Up to now, the cell efficiency of 8.52% for N719 Ru based dye
and the maximum cell 14.7% for collaborative sensitization by silyl-
anchor and carboxy-anchor dyes have been reported for DSSC [9,10].
But low cell performance and low cell stability limit the use of DSSC.
Traditionally, the DSSC is consist of transparent conducting oxide
glass (Fluorine-doped tin oxide or Indium-doped tin oxide), nano-
crystalline semiconductor (TiO2, ZnO, SnO2) anode, dye as sensitizer,
Iodine electrolyte, and cathode. The dye plays a very important role in
absorbing light from the sun and convert solar energy into useable
electrical energy [11]. The dye sensitizer can be organic, metal-organic,
and inorganic dye molecules. Metal-organic and inorganic dye mole-
cules show excellent properties of higher absorbance, wide absorption

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mosharraf22003@yahoo.com, mosharraf22003@baec.gov.bd (M.M.H. Bhuiyan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2019.102474
Received 27 February 2019; Received in revised form 19 June 2019; Accepted 21 June 2019
Available online 28 June 2019
2211-3797/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
F. Kabir, et al.
in the visible solar spectrum, fast electron injection, fast electron
transfer, and higher stability. Organic dye molecules has been also
considered as an efficient dye molecule because of its high extinction
coefficient, excellent hole-transporting ability, easy synthetic progress,
easy to tune the HOMO/LUMO level, photoelectric properties and ab-
sorption spectra, and relative low toxicity [7,8,12,13]. In contrast to
metal-organic and organic dye molecules, natural dye molecules show
low electron transfer, low absorbance, and narrow absorption in the
visible solar spectrum and less stability [6,14]. But natural dye mole-
cules are easily extractable from natural resources such as the flower,
fruit, stem, seeds, leaves, roots, tree barks [6,15,16]. Unlike synthetic
dye molecule (i.e. metal-organic, inorganic and organic), extraction of
the organic dye molecule from natural resources does not require
complicated synthesis process. Organic dye molecules are cost-effec-
tive, widely available, bio-degradable, environment-friendly and non-
toxic [6]. Most commonly used organic natural dyes are: chlorophyll
[17–19], anthocyanins [18,20], carotenes [21,22], betacyanins [23],
and curcumin [3,24]. To improve the absorption properties of natural
dye two (or more dyes) can be combined that has a different absorption
spectrum. Combining dyes allows to absorb solar energy from wide
visible solar spectrum, also shows higher absorbance than the single
individual dye [3,18,25,26].
In this work, DSSC has been fabricated with the combination of
natural green (extracted from Malabar spinach) and red (extracted from
red spinach) dye to improve the conversion efficiency of the cell. DSSC
co-sensitized with 5 different combinations of green and red dyes to
find the optimum combination. Furthermore, natural dyes chemical
characteristics and absorption characteristics were measured by FTIR
and UV–Vis spectroscopy.
Experimental section
Chemicals
Commercially available titania paste (Dyesol, Australia), Fluorine-
doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting glass (Dyesol, Australia), Ethanol
(Sigma-Aldrich, USA), Iodine (Merck, Germany), Potassium iodide
(Merck, Germany), Ethylene glycol (Merck, Germany), Titanium tetra-
chloride (Merck, Germany) were used as received.
Extraction of natural dye sensitizer
Natural green and red dyes were extracted from Malabar spinach
(Basella alba) and red spinach (Amaranthus dubius), respectively. These
plants were bought from the local agricultural farm (Dhaka,
Bangladesh).
To prepare ethanol extract of green dye (from Malabar spinach),
firstly, Malabar spinach leaves were washed and dried at 25 °C in a
vacuum drying oven for 2 h to remove moisture. Then the leaves were
cut into small pieces. Sliced (Malabar spinach) leaves of 20 g/5 ml were
put into a 99.9 wt% ethanol solution and kept without exposure to di-
rect sunlight for 24 h. Finally, solid residues were filtrated out and used
as sensitizer supply for DSSC. Green dye (Chlorophyll) extract was
stored in amber glass bottle and wrapped by aluminum foil paper to
avoid any external exposure of light and stored in refrigerator at
+15 °C in absence of light and oxygen for dye stability. The con-
centration of green dye was approximately 0.363 g/10 ml ethanol so-
lution.
Natural red dye sensitizer prepared in DI water. At first, the whole
plant (except the root) washed with DI water and cut into pieces.
Afterward, sliced pieces (leaves and stem) were immersed in DI water
(12 g:1ml volume ratio) and heated at 60 °C for 1 h. The liquid solution
(unpurified) was cooled down and solid residues were filtered out;
unpurified dye solution was purified by liquid-liquid partition (mixing
100 ml unpurified dye solution to 50 ml chloroform in a separatory
funnel to remove chlorophylls, less polar or non-polar flavonoids and
2
Results in Physics 14 (2019) 102474
compounds from the mixture) and used as dye sensitizer source for
DSSC. The concentration of red dye was approximately 0.314 g mg/
10 ml DI water solution. Red dye (anthocyanin) extract was stored in
amber glass bottle stored in refrigerator at +15 °C in absence of light
and oxygen.
5 different combinations of dyes (green + red) was prepared by
combining these two dyes at different volume ratios.
• 20 ml green dye + 5 ml red dye (80% green + 20% red)
• 15 ml green dye + 10 ml red dye (60% green + 40% red)
• 12.5 ml green dye + 12.5 ml red dye (50% green + 50% red)
• 10 ml green dye + 15 ml red dye (40% green + 60% red) and
• 5 ml green dye + 20 ml red dye (20% green + 80% red)
All these 5 combinations of dyes were used as dye sensitizer source
for DSSC.
Preparation of anode
For anode, FTO glass substrate (surface resistivity = 8 Ω/sq. and
transmittance > 80%) were cleaned in an ultrasonic bath with de-
tergent, DI water, solution of ethanol and acetone (50: 50 ratio) to re-
move any organic or inorganic contaminants or adhesive on its surface.
Each step was taken 30 min. For transparent TiO2 anode, titania paste
(> 99% anatase, avg. particle size ∼20 nm) was doctor bladed on the
conducting side of FTO glass substrate. Active cell area was 2X2 cm2.
Single layered TiO2 nanoporous film was air dried and sintered at
450 °C in a muffle furnace for 1 h [27] and left for 12 h to cool it down.
Single layered TiO2 film thickness was around 8–12 μm. The TiO2 film
was treated in 0.05 M TiCl4 solution for 60 min and afterwards the
anode was cleaned with DI water [9]. Finally, TiCl4 treated FTO/TiO2
was air dried and sintered at 450 °C in a muffle furnace for 1 h [9,27].
Preparation of electrolyte
Iodine electrolyte solution was prepared as reported previously [14]
by making a homogenous mixture of 0.83 g Potassium Iodide (KI),
0.127 g Iodine (I2) and 10 ml of ethylene glycol. Liquid Iodine elec-
trolyte solution was kept in the dark container without exposure to
direct sunlight [3].
Dye loading
For natural green and red dyes-sensitized DSSC, the anode (TiCl4
treated FTO/TiO2) was soaked in 25 ml dye solution for 60 min to
fabricate working photoanode. For the combination of dyes 5 different
combinations were prepared by varying the volume of green and red
dye. All of 5 combinations of dyes were used as dye co-sensitizer for
DSSC (Extraction of natural dye sensitizer section). All anodes were
soaked into the combinations of dyes solution for 60 min to fabricate
the working photoanode. Dye pigments were adsorbed by photoanode
and the photoanode were cleaned in deionized water for 5–10 s to re-
move (if any) unbound dye pigments. After that photoanode was air
dried at 40 °C in a drier for 1 h. The average dye absorbed by TiCl4
treated FTO/TiO2 was about 7–9% of initial concentration.
Device fabrication
The cathode was prepared by covering the cleaned FTO (in
Preparation of anode section) and candle nip carbon coating technique
on the conducting side of the glass substrate. The photoanode and
cathode were fabricated into a sandwich type cell and liquid electrolyte
solution (Preparation of electrolyte in section) was injected into the
cell.
F. Kabir, et al. Results in Physics 14 (2019) 102474

Fig. 1. FT-IR adsorption spectra of natural green, red, and combination (20% Green + 80% Red) of dyes (without TiO2). (For interpretation of the references to color
in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Results and discussion
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
The Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) absorbance spectra were
measured by FTIR 7800 Spectrometer for the chemical characterization
of the natural green, red and combination of dyes(20% Green + 80%
Red) were illustrated in Fig. 1, while Table 1 lists the characteristic IR
absorption frequencies of organic functional groups of natural dye
molecules.
From Fig. 1, comparing the single individual green and red dye and
combination of dyes(20% Green + 80% Red) there was no new peak
has been assigned for new bond except few shifts in the adsorption peak
(Table 1). So, in case of the optimum combination of dyes, there were
no chemical reaction has taken place and either single individual nat-
ural dye pigments (or molecules). Single natural dye pigments do not
react with each other and co-exist side by side.
FTIR absorbance spectra of natural green, red and combination of
dyes(20% Green + 80% Red) by TiO2 film were measured and Table 2
lists the characteristic IR absorption frequencies of organic functional
groups absorbed by TiO2 film.
Comparing both Figs. 1 and 2 (or Tables 1 and 2), a few shifts in
wavenumber and change in absorbance level have been observed.
Transmittance level has been decreased when organic functional groups
of natural dyes get absorbed by TiO2 film. From Figs. 1 and 2, in the
range of 3200–3600 cm−1 (for OeH) maximum change in absorbance
has been observed. For the combination of dyes while the value of
transmittance was 50.73% (from Fig. 1) but at the same time combi-
nation of dyes absorbed by TiO2 film’s transmittance value was only
87.55% (From Fig. 2) in the range of 3200–3600 cm−1. From Fig. 2,
two more peak at the range of 1400–1600 cm−1 appeared at
1402 cm−1 and 1462 cm−1 due to aromatic C]C group for the op-
timum combination of dyes absorbed by TiO2, while these two peaks
were suppressed in the FTIR spectrum of the optimum combination of
dyes. Two more peaks appeared at 2852 cm−1 and 2923 cm−1 for
symmetric and asymmetric Alkane (CeH) group.
Absorption spectroscopy
Chlorophyll dye pigments give plants (or leaves) their green color.
Chlorophyll absorbs the blue and red portion of the visible solar spec-
trum [35]. Chlorophyll-a and Chlorophyll-b are two major different
types of Chlorophyll [6]. Ethanol extracted Malabar spinach (natural
green dye) is considered to be enriched in chlorophyll-b dye pigment,
but Beta carotene, Pheophytins, and Xanthophylls are also present in
the dye solution. Chemical structure of both Chlorophyll a and b are

Table 1
IR absorption of organic functional groups of natural green, red, and combination of dyes (20% Green + 80% Red) without TiO2 [28–34].
Functional group Absorption range (in Type of vibration Intensity Absorption peak of green Absorption peak of Absorption peak of red Ref.
cm−1) dye (in cm−1) combination of dyes (in cm−1) dye (in cm−1)

Alkyl Halide 600–800 Stretch Strong 616 610 606 [28,29]

(CeCl)
Alkene (]CeH) 675–1000 Bending Strong 944 950 – [29]
Ether 1000–1300 Stretch Strong 1017 1026 – [29–31]
(CeO)
Amine (CeN) 1080–1360 Stretch Weak 1338 1354 – [29,32]
Aromatic 1400–1600 Stretch Medium weak 1422 1404 – [29]
(C]C)
Alkene 1620–1680 Stretch Variable 1652 1619 1635 [29,33]
(C]C)
Alkane 2820–2850 Stretch Strong 2837 – – [29,34]
(CeH) (symmetric)
Alkane 2850–3000 Stretch Strong 2975 – – [24,29]
(CeH) (asymmetric)
Alcohol (OeH) 3200–3600 Stretch Broad and 3346 3320 3329 [29,30]
strong

3
F. Kabir, et al. Results in Physics 14 (2019) 102474

Table 2
IR absorption of organic functional groups of natural green, red and combination of dyes(20% Green + 80% Red) absorbed by TiO2 films.
Functional group Absorption range Type of vibration Intensity Absorption peak of green Absorption peak of Absorption peak of red Ref.
(in cm−1) dye by TiO2 film (in combination of dyes by TiO2 dye by TiO2 film (in
cm−1) film (in cm−1) cm−1)

TieOeTi 400–800 Stretch Strong 438 440 515 [28,34]

Alkene (]CeH) 675–1000 Bending Strong 817 782 780 [34]
Ether 1000–1300 Stretch Strong 1042 1039 1040 [29–31]
(CeO)
Amine (CeN) 1080–1360 Stretch Weak 1324 1323 1315 [29,32]
Aromatic 1400–1600 Stretch Medium 1546 1544 1538 [29]
(C]C) weak
Alkene 1620–1680 Stretch Variable 1639 1643 1636 [29,33]
(C]C)
Alkane 2820–2850 Stretch Strong 2848 2852 2856 [29,34]
(CeH) (symmetric)
Alkane 2850–3000 Stretch Strong 2924 2923 2924 [29,34]
(CeH) (asymmetric)
Alcohol (OeH) 3200–3600 Stretch Broad and 3384 3286 3281 [29,30,34]
strong

shown in Fig. 3. energy to photo-electrochemical conversion [6].

Anthocyanins are water-soluble dye pigment and appear in color
purple, red, blue etc. depending on the value of pH [37]. DI water
extracted red spinach dye is considered to be enriched in anthocyanins
dye pigment, although some other dyes such as chlorophyll, β-carotene,
xanthophylls, less polar or non-polar flavonoids compounds, and other
impurities are present at the same time. Anthocyanin dye has been
separated from other dye molecules by liquid-liquid partition method
(in Extraction of natural dye sensitizer section). Chemical structure of
anthocyanins is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 5 illustrates the UV-visible absorption spectra of natural green
dye (Chlorophyll) and natural red dye (anthocyanin) and the optimum
combination of dyes (green + red) diluted in ethanol have measured by
UV–Vis spectrophotometer (Jasco, V650) at the visible spectrum
(350–800 nm). Natural green dye has an absorption peak at 447 nm and
663 nm with an absorption range of 600–700 nm whereas natural red
dye has an absorption peak at 515 nm and has the absorption range of
400–600 mn. The optimum combination of dyes (20% green + 80%
red) has shown absorption peak at 478 nm, 532 nm and 667 nm and the
main absorption range was at 450–700 nm. The optimum combination
of dyes has shown cumulative absorption properties of both single in-
dividual green and red dye. Widen absorption spectrum and higher
absorbance in the visible range increases the possibility of higher solar
Fig. 6: shows the absorption spectra of natural green, red and
combination of dyes (20% green + 80% red) absorbed by TiO2 film at
the visible spectrum. Due to the presence of the bonds between TiO2
and dye molecules, the availability of electron has been increased. As a
result, less energy is required to transfer an electron from the highest
occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular
orbital (LUMO). So the absorption peaks have been shifted to the right
(or redshift). Comparing both Figs. 5 and 6, TiO2 sensitized by dye’s
(green, red and combination of dyes) absorption peaks has been red-
shifted. For green dye, the absorption peak has been shifted from
663 nm to 675 nm for green dye absorbed by TiO2 film. Similar to green
dye, both red dye (from 515 nm to 575 nm) and the combination of
dyes (from 665 nm to 679 nm) absorbed by TiO2 has been redshifted.
Photoelectric properties of DSSC sensitized by natural dyes
By current- voltage (I-V) characteristics curve, the performance of
DSSC has been evaluated. I-V performance of the assembled cells was
measured under a calibrated solar simulator with a 500W Xenon arc
lamp and a light intensity of 100 mW/cm2 at AM 1.5G. From the I-V
characteristics curve, maximum output voltage (Voc), maximum output
current (Isc) and fill factor (FF) can be measured. The maximum power

Fig. 2. FT-IR adsorption spectra of natural red, green, and combination (20% Green + 80% Red) of dyes by TiO2 film. (For interpretation of the references to color in
this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

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F. Kabir, et al. Results in Physics 14 (2019) 102474

Fig. 3. Molecular structure of chlorophyll [36].

Fig. 4. Molecular structure of Anthocyanin [38].

Fig. 6. Absorption spectra of natural green, red and combination of dyes (20%
green + 80% red) absorbed by TiO2 film at the visible spectrum.

And,

Fig. 5. Absorption spectra of diluted natural green, red and combination of
dyes (20% green + 80% red) at the visible spectrum. (For interpretation of the
references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web ver-
sion of this article.)
output (Pmax) was measured from the I-V characteristics curve where
the product of voltage and the corresponding current was maximum.
The Pmax (Eq. (1)) was determined by using the following relations.
Pmax = Vmax × Imax
where Vmax and Imax were the maximum voltage and current at the
Pmax, respectively.
FF determined the overall performance of the cell. The FF (Eq. (2))
and efficiency of the cell, η (Eq. (3)) has determined by using the fol-
lowing relations [39].
Pmax
FF =
Isc × Voc
Isc × Voc×FF
η=
Pin (3)
2
where Pin denoted as the input power (100 mW/cm ).
Table 3 summarizes the photoelectrical properties such as Isc, Voc,
FF and η values of DSSC using single individual natural green, red, and
combination of these two natural dye at 5 different volume ratio. All the
cell parameter was measured at normal room (or lab) condition and the
ambient temperature was 26–32 °C.
According to Table 3, single individual red dye sensitized DSSC has
shown better cell parameter (Isc = 2.810 mA, Voc = 0.383 mV,
FF = 0.494 and η = 0.531%) compared to single individual green dye
sensitized DSSC’s cell parameter (Isc = 2.875 mA, Voc = 0.347 mV,
FF = 0.486 and η = 0.466%). But all the DSSC co-sensitized with
combination of dyes has shown higher cell performance (Isc, FF and η)
than both single individual dye sensitized DSSC’s cell efficiency. The
photoelectrical properties of DSSC co-sensitized with combination of
(1)
dyes has shown that Isc ranged from 2.875 mA to 4.273 mA, Voc varied
from 0.347 mV to 0.385 mV, and FF varied from 0.486 to 0.515. The
maximum cell parameter has been observed when DSSC was co-sensi-
tized with 20% green + 80% red dye combination. Therefore, the op-
timized combination of dyes (20% green + 80% red) has the cell
parameter of Isc = 4.273 mA, Voc = 0.385 mV, FF = 0.515 and
η = 0.847%.
Fig. 7 illustrates the I-V characteristics of DSSC fabricated with
(2)
single individual natural green, red, and combination of these two

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F. Kabir, et al. Results in Physics 14 (2019) 102474

Table 3
Photoelectrical parameter for DSSC fabricated with TiCl4 treated FTO/TiO2.
Dye/Combination of dyes Voc(mV) Isc(mA) FF η%

100% Green 0.347 ± 0.003 2.875 ± 0.011 0.468 ± 0.003 0.466 ± 0.008
80% Green + 20% Red 0.354 ± 0.001 2.973 ± 0.026 0.474 ± 0.008 0.498 ± 0.014
60% Green + 40% Red 0.365 ± 0.005 3.043 ± 0.019 0.487 ± 0.017 0.540 ± 0.030
50% Green + 50% Red 0.368 ± 0.004 3.451 ± 0.023 0.462 ± 0.014 0.586 ± 0.028
40% Green + 60% Red 0.379 ± 0.001 3.773 ± 0.012 0.509 ± 0.004 0.727 ± 0.009
20% Green + 80% Red 0.385 ± 0.009 4.273 ± 0.017 0.515 ± 0.011 0.847 ± 0.041
100% Red 0.383 ± 0.004 2.810 ± 0.021 0.494 ± 0.006 0.531 ± 0.016

**Photovoltaic parameters are averaged value acquired from the I-V curve of three identica Table_Legend Table_Legend Table_Legendl electrodes for each dye
sources.

natural dye at 5 different volume ratio. Conclusion

Fig. 8 illustrates, the efficiency of the DSSC sensitized with single
individual dye and co-sensitized with 5 different combinations of dyes.
DSSC fabricated with green dye has the cell efficiency of 0.466%, as the
percentage of red dye increased (0–80%) in the dye combinations, the
cell efficiency of DSSC co-sensitized with the combination of dyes
ranging from 0.466% to 0.847% (maximum). For red dye-sensitized
DSSC has the cell efficiency of 0.531%, as the percentage of green dye
increased (0–20%) in the combination, the cell efficiency of DSSC co-
sensitized with the optimum combination of dye (20% green + 80%
red) showed maximum cell efficiency. Further, increasing the percen-
tage of green dye in the combination (20–80%) results in lower cell
efficiency compared to the maximum cell efficiency. All combinations
of dyes co-sensitized DSSC showed higher cell efficiency (except 80%
green + 20% red) than the single individual red dye-sensitized DSSC’s
cell efficiency. For DSSC co-sensitized with 80% green + 20% red dye
combination showed lower cell efficiency, this might be to do with the
fact that, the green dye occupied most part of the photoanode and red
dye occupied much less space than green dye, so the conversion effi-
ciency is lower than the red dye-sensitized DSSC’s cell efficiency but
still higher than the green dye-sensitized DSSC’s cell efficiency. Max-
imum cell efficiency was observed when DSSC was composed with 20%
green + 80% red dye combination. For the optimized combination of
dyes (20% green + 80% red), co-sensitized DSSC has the maximum cell
efficiency of 0.847%, which was almost 81.75% and 59.51% higher
than that of the single individual green and red dye-sensitized DSSC’s
cell efficiency, respectively.
In this paper, DSSC has been developed from green (extracted from
Malabar spinach) and natural red (from red spinach). From the ex-
perimental data, the cell efficiency of green and red dye based DSSC
were found 0.466% and 0.531%, respectively. To improve the cell ef-
ficiency, DSSC has been co-sensitized with combinations of natural
green and red dyes. Five different combination ratios were prepared by
varying the volume ratio and the DSSC has been co-sensitized with this
combination of dyes. From the FTIR spectroscopy, it is evident that no
new peak has been assigned for new bond except few shifts in the ad-
sorption peak for the combination of dyes. So, in case of the combi-
nation, no chemical reaction has been taken place and either single
individual natural dye pigments (or molecules) do not react with each
other and co-exists side by side. From the UV–Vis absorption spectro-
scopy, the combination of dyes showed cumulative absorption proper-
ties of both single individual dyes. DSSC co-sensitized with the op-
timum combination of dyes (20% green + 80% red) exhibited the
highest cell efficiency of 0.847% under 100 mW/cm2illumination at
AM 1.5G condition. The optimized cell efficiency of 0.847%, is almost
81.75% and 59.51% higher than that of the single individual green and
reddye-sensitized DSSC’s cell efficiency.
Acknowledgement
This research work is financed by The Ministry of Science &
Technology, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh under
special Allocation Research project for Science & Technology (Grant
Ref. No.: 39.009.006.01.00.057.2015-2016/PHY’S-370/1299 Date: 08/
12/2015).

Fig. 7. I-V characteristics of DSSC fabricated with TiCl4 treated FTO/TiO2.

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F. Kabir, et al.
Fig. 8. Efficiency vs combination of dyes.
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