In an interview, Soumitra Satapathi, assistant professor at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in Uttarakhand with Chemical Today Magazine speaks about the research – on making dye sensitised solar cells from jamuns which are cost effective and eco-friendly.
Jamun is a purple coloured fruit, known as Java Plum. It is native to India and adjoining regions of Southeast Asia.
By Debarati Das
Research insight.
In our research, we are trying to replace costly Ru-based sensitiser with low-cost natural products ie. dye sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) or Gratzel cells. Jamun based DSSC is one step towards that goal. The ease of availability of Jamun fruits and their cost-effectiveness is the scoring point here. Anthocyanin in Jamun is a coloured pigment and is therefore suitable for light absorption. Apart from being cost effective, they also have large extinction coefficient.
For our research, we plucked fresh jamuns from the trees of IIT Roorkee. The skin and flesh were separated from the seeds. Fresh plums, Blackcurrant pulp and mixed berry juice were purchased from the local market. Dyes were extracted from jamun, plum, black currant, and mixed berry juice by ethanol. The mixture was then centrifuged and decanted. The extracted anthocyanin was used as a sensitiser in the titanium-di-oxide layer. The key here is to optimise a lot of parameters to extract maximum anthocyanin and confirm the existence of anthocyanin analytically.
DSSCs or Gratzel cells v/s Conventional solar cells
A Gratzel cell is composed of a porous layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated photoanode, a monolayer of dye molecules that absorbs sunlight, an electrolyte for dye regeneration, and a cathode. They form a sandwich-like structure with the dye molecule or photosensitizer playing a pivotal role through its ability to absorb visible light photons. The constituents in DSSC make them cost effective and ease of fabrication in comparison to conventional solar cells.
DSSC - a scientific solution for global warming
The increasing pressure on fossil fuels and concern about global warming has inspired a continuous search for alternate energy. Uncertainty over the pace at which new large dams or nuclear plants can be built means strong reliance on solar power (areas where India has high potential and equally high ambition) to deliver on the pledge to build up a 40 percent share of non-fossil fuel capacity in the power sector by 2030. In principle, we have a large social need for renewable energy especially solar energy. For quite some time, our lab is actively engaged in low-cost high-efficiency solar cells production. Natural dye based DSSC is a result of that initiative. I hope lot other things will come along the way to solve the global problem.
Future research and growth of the project.
We are trying now to take this technology to the next level by optimising several factors. We are also expanding our area and started working on indoor lighting and zero energy building. We are also in talks with few industries for the commercialisation of this product.
Apart from DSSC, we also work on Perovskite Solar cells and Organic Solar Cells to provide solutions to industry in energy and materials science.
Potential for higher research in India
India has huge potential for higher research. During the past few years, infrastructures and facilities have improved and a lot of new research institutes came into place. The funding sources are generous if one has a novel and creative idea. Moreover, we have a strong pool of young researchers who are actively participating in groundbreaking works.
One important guideline for young researchers will be if you have creative ideas, do not hesitate to pursue them. It is also important to work in cluster research form and be interdisciplinary.
© Chemical Today Magazine
Read More: Lighting up the world with Jamuns
No comments:
Post a Comment