Green synthesis and characterizations of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles using Moringa oleifera extract for improved performance in dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract

In this study, Moringa oleifera extract was used for the green synthesis of magnetic Iron Oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticle. Natural dye from air-dried Carica papaya leaves was used as sensitizer along with commercially obtainable N719 Ruthenium dye. The optical absorptions between 350 and 650 nm confirmed the formation of the nanoparticle. After adding the nanoparticle to the TiO2 and loading it with dye, the absorbance in the visible range dramatically increased. The formation and stabilization of the nanoparticle may have been aided by the functional groups, according to the FTIR results. With an average crystallite size of 35.13 nm, the XRD patterns demonstrated the nanoparticle's crystalline nature. The morphologies of the nanoparticle demonstrated that it was well-formed and homogeneously dispersed. The presence of iron and other component elements was confirmed by the EDX spectra. The production of 40.83 nm-sized nanoparticles on average was further verified by the TEM micrograph, and the samples' crystallographic planes were identified by the SAED patterns. The photo-electrochemical performance of the DSSCs showed that the efficiencies increased significantly with percentage increase of 90.1% and 89.3% for Carica papaya and Ruthenium dyes, respectively. The green-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticle exhibited good properties for application in DSSC.

Keywords

• Green synthesis
• Fe3O4 nanoparticle
• Titanium (IV) oxide (TiO2)
• Photoanode, Natural dye
• Dye-sensitized solar cell