Begonia dye as an efficient anthocyanin sensitizer.

Dye sensitized solar cells were fabricated by sensitizing with Begonia dye extracted from a new variant of Begonia plant which is found in the Eastern Himalayas. The quality of TiO2 coated substrate was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscope, X-ray diffraction, and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The extracted dye and the dye-sensitized TiO2 coated substrates were subjected to UV-Vis spectrophotometer, fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. The presence of anthocyanin in Begonia dye has been confirmed from above studies. Thermal studies of the dye extract reveal that it is stable till 150 °C. The fabricated cells have efficiency in the range 1.73-1.86%, which is the highest known efficiency in anthocyanin based natural dye sensitized solar cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]