Fabrication and characterization of ITO/ZnO/anthraquinone solid dye-sensitized solar cells

The use of natural dyes as sensitizers in organic solar cells is getting more interest due to its green nature, nontoxicity, low cost and ecofriendly materials. In this paper, two anthraquinone/zinc oxide-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were prepared by a simple and low cost method. The anthraquinone was extracted from Aloe-vera plant and was deposited as a thin film to study its structural and optical properties. ZnO nanoparticles and nanorods were prepared by the RF sputtering and electrodeposition methods, respectively. The Glass/ITO/ZnO/anthraquinone/Al structure exhibited a promising photovoltaic activity.