Dye-sensitized solar cells using purified squid ink nanoparticles coated on TiO<sub>2</sub> nanotubes/nanoparticles

Abstract

Purified squid ink was used as a natural dye in TiO2 nanocomposite films for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The squid ink extract was purified by the reaction over a proteolytic enzyme and coated onto composites of TiO2 nanotubes/nanoparticles. The resulting cells were compared with reference DSSCs in which N719 was used as a standard dye. Analysis revealed that the sub-500-nm eumelanine-based spherical nanoparticles were well adsorbed on the surface of the TiO2 nanotubes/nanoparticles, and the cells demonstrated efficiencies of 0.72 and 0.86%, respectively. The mechanisms over photosensitization induced by the purified ink particles are elucidated.