Optical Studies and Photovoltaic Performance of Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide Sensitized with Local Dye

Nanocrystalline titanium (iv) oxide paste has been deposited on Fluorine doped tin oxide glass substrate by the blade method. The deposited film was subjected to thermal treatment to obtain an electrode foe a photo-electrochemical cell. The electrode was sensitized with prophyrin dye which was a local dye extracted from carica papaya leaves. Avaspec 2.1 spectrophotometer was used to obtain the absorbance data, while the Tauc Model was employed to estimate the optical band gap of the sensitized film. The sensitization process led to band gap narrowing and, hence, the prophyrin-dyed electrode could absorb light beyond the ultraviolet region. Also, the current-voltage characteristics of a dye sensitized solar cell based on the prophyrin dye revealed that the natural dye is a good photosensitizer.