This work presents an experimental and theoretical study of cyanidin natural dye as a sensitizer for ZnO dyesensitized
solar cells. ZnO nanoparticles were prepared using ammonia and oxalic acid as a capping agent. The
calculated average size of the synthesized ZnO with different capping agents was found to be 32.1 nm. Electronic
properties of cyanidin and delphinidin dye were studied using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent
DFT with a B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level. By comparing the theoretical results with the experimental data, the
cyanidin dye can be used as a sensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells. An efficiency of 0.006% under an AM-1.5
illumination at 100 mW∕cm2 was attained. The influence of dye adsorption time on the solar cell performance is
discussed. |
