Abstract:
The dye sensitized solar cells are fabricated using low cost materials and inexpensive
techniques. As such, they are cheaper electric power devices for domestic usage. But their
efficiencies have comparatively got low values. Therefore, increasing of efficiency of these
types of solar cells becomes a major task in this research study. Dye sensitized solar cell
provides an efficient and easily implemented technology for future energy supply.
Comparing to congenital solar cells, it accomplishes comparable power conversion
efficiency at low material and manufacturing cost which are inexpensive, abundant and
innocuous to the environment.
Rice husk is a wasteful colluvium in day to day life and these waste rice husks can be used
to extract silica. Dye sensitized solar cells which are manufactured using extracted silica
composite semiconductor materials has a low cost value compare with other
semiconductor solar cells. As such, it is intended to observe the performance of dye
sensitized solar cell by making composites of silicon dioxide (SiO2) treatment with
titanium dioxide (TiO2) on thin film. The enhancement of cell efficiency at its optimum
composition is the major objective of this study. After electrical and electronic analysis, it
was observed that the optimum composition ratio between SiO2 and TiO2 is 1:9, and it
consists current-voltage curves obtained with solar cells employing the photo anode with
TiO2 & SiO2 sensitized by the ruthenium dye. The characteristic parameters, namely; short
circuit current (Isc), open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (ff), and efficiency (η) obtained for
the above device were noted and observed by Isc = 0.856 mA, Voc = 657 mV, ff = 0.408 and
η = 0.2295 % respectively.
Keywords: Dye-sensitized solar cells, Photo anode.
