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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2011
Since their re-introduction as new generation solar cells in 1991,dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been studied extensively to improvetheir efficiency and their stability. Few papers have reported the usage ofnatural dyes in the fabrication of DSSCs. We are most interested in thesedyes being easy to extract, low cost and with tunable absorption. Forexample, Anthocyanin is extracted from red cabbage and is present in amultitude of colors ranging from red to yellow to violet according to thepH. In this study, two industrial types of titanium dioxide powders, theDegussa P 25 and the Crystal 128 with different particle sizes 21 and 200 nmrespectively, were used to prepare DSSCs. The dye used is anthocyanin andits color is varied by varying the pH of the medium. The pH effect on thelight absorption of anthocyanin in the visible range and the opticalproperties of titanium dioxide dyed with anthocyanin and coumarin 102 areinvestigated using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The open-circuit voltage of all thesamples is tested and it if found out that it is dependant on the dyecolor.