IIT Hyderabad Develops Low-Cost, Eco-Friendly Solar Cells Using Vermilion Dye

• The dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) is based on New Fuchsin (NF) dye with aqueous electrolyte and platinum-free counter electrodes
• DSSC is a third-generation thin-film organic molecule-based energy conversion device
• The best performing DSSCs use organic solvent-based liquid electrolytes

Scientists at IIT Hyderabad have developed low-cost, environment-friendly solar cells by employing an off-the-shelf dye used to make kumkum or vermilion in India. 

The dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) is based on New Fuchsin (NF) dye with aqueous electrolyte and platinum-free counter electrodes, according to the research published in the Solar Energy journal. 

Existing technology and its drawback
The most familiar solar cells today are made up of silicon and can be seen in the various overhead panels and other places, noted Professor Sai Santosh Kumar Raavi from Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad. 

However, this technology is limited by huge fabrication costs as silicon processing is very expensive and involves very high-temperature methods that leave a large carbon footprint, Raavi, who led the project, told PTI.

An alternative workaround
Since 2010, a lot of efforts have been made to use water-soluble natural and synthetic dyes to make water-based solar cells. In order to get around the limitations of using silicon, the IIT Hyderabad team started working on solar cells based on organic materials, which were supposedly inexpensive and easy to fabricate. 

Dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) is a third-generation thin-film organic molecule-based energy conversion device. DSSC takes its inspiration from nature, almost mimicking the primary process of photosynthesis the phenomenon in plants, Raavi explained.

Raavi noted that SSCsare generally considered eco-friendlier to produce than conventional solar cells because they require little energy to manufacture. The best performing DSSCs use organic solvent-based liquid electrolytes.

He further explained that the idea of this work is not to run behind the best efficiency. According to Raavi, sometimes, the cost for achieving the highest efficient device overwhelms the actual motivation behind developing a particular class of solar cell technology- which is to be eco-friendly and inexpensive.

In their latest work, Raavi’s team consisting of researchers from Department of Physics and Chemistry (IIT Hyderabad), ARCHEM (University of Hyderabad) NIT Kurukshetra and IFSC-USP, Brazil, employed a very cheap magenta-dye called New Fuchsin, which is used to make kumkum or vermillion when grounded with turmeric.