Electrolytic Synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) for Dye- Sensitized Solar Cells Applications

Abstract

The present work reports a simple and comprehensive electrochemical approach for the production of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) from magnesium chloride (MgCl2) solution under alkaline conditions and subsequent calcination at regulated temperatures. The mean crystalline particle size was determined by the Scherrer equation as 19.7+/-2.0 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) pictures revealed the formation of quasi-polyhedral particles of 20.3+/-3.8 nm with clear (200) lattice planes. SEM-EDX investigation revealed a consistent porosity structure with no visible defects.

The synthesized material was deposited over a titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite photoanode at a concentration of 5 wt%. The photoanode was then used for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We have performed a detailed comparison of two forms of dye-sensitized pigments: the classical ruthenium compound N719 and the natural anthocyanin extract from fresh blackberries, i.e., the cyanidin-3-glucoside complex. In the photovoltaic experiments under AM 1.5G light, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the N719-sensitized cell was 4.8% while that of the cell using the natural dye was 2.1%. Observed performance differences are due to spectral absorption differences.