Parthenium hysterophorous flower template assisted SnO2 nanostructure as photoanode for dye sensitized solar cell

Abstract

The synthesis process of tin oxide (SnO2) nanostructures and the performance of alizarin-based SnO2 dye-sensitized solar cells have been investigated in the current work. For the first time, tin oxide nanostructures with various pH values are synthesized using the template taken from parthenium hysterophorous flower which acts as the photoanodes. SnO2 film coated with alizarin dye, a platinum counter electrode, and an iodine electrolyte are used to fabricate DSSC. The structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of the SnO2 nanostructures are investigated using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL), attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectra, and UV–visible spectroscopy techniques. Current density-voltage (J-V) parameters are measured using electrochemical workstation with solar illumination.

Keywords

• Dye sensitized solar cells
• Parthenium hysterophorous
• Tin oxide
• Alizarin