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Abstract

We investigated the influence of synthesized dye combination 3-hydroxyflavone with potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide as photosynthesizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). DSSCs are classified as hybrid inorganic/organic photovoltaic cells that have been reported to have lower production costs and efficiency as high as 12%. Annealed titanium dioxide pastes on fluorine doped tin oxide was used as the front layer of the completed devices and the performance of 3-hydroxyflavone with potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide was compared with the performance of dyes extracted from berries. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to characterize the absorbance of the respective absorber dyes. 3-Hydroxyflavone in potassium hydroxide demonstrated the best photoactive performance with the highest open circuit voltage of 468 mV. However, it is vital to know that further research needs to be done on 3-hydroxyflavone to evaluate and enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Young Scientists Academy (YSA) Program of the Georgia College’s Science Education Center.

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