Development of innovative dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on co-sensitization of natural microbial pigments
Abstract
In the last years, the growing attention towards environmental sustainability and circular economy has led to a
renewed interest in the use of eco-friendly and recyclable materials in various sectors.
Developing innovative dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on microbial pigments, is very important to
meet the demands of sustainable devices. Microbial extracts obtained from Talaromyces atroroseus GH2,
Arthrobacter bussei CP30 and Paracoccus bogoriensis BOG6 cultivations, and characterized by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS
analyses, have been used in this work for this purpose. The extracted pigments were tested to evaluate their
suitability as photosensitizers through co-sensitization method. UV–vis measurements were carried out to
determine the absorbance intensity, while Photoelectrochemical and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
(EIS) analyses were applied to evaluate the devices’ photovoltaic parameters and impedance characteristics. The
best device, obtained by the co-sensitization of the dyes produced by Talaromyces atroroseus GH2/Paracoccus
bogoriensis BOG6, exhibited a Jsc of 1.59 mA/cm2, Voc of 0.35 V, FF of 0.62, and a PCE of 0.34 %. This study
highlights the potential of microbial-derived pigments in the development of DSSCs.
