Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad, Sohrab Nasiri, Venkatramaiah Nutalapati, Kamaladin Gharanjig and Amirmasoud Arabi
The purpose of this paper is to introduce four new organic dyes based on naphthalimide for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce four new organic dyes based on naphthalimide for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
Design/methodology/approach
Four new dyes based on naphthalimide with substitutions of amine and acetylamine in position C4 were designed in conjugation with substituted carbazole as donor–acceptor (D-A) architecture. The absorption and emission characteristics of the prepared dyes were evaluated in H2O, DMF and their mixture (DMF:H2O = 1:1). The feasibility of electron transfer in the DSSCs structure and energy levels were evaluated using electrochemical and density functional theory, which confirm the use of dyes in the DSSCs structure. The DSSCs were prepared using an individual strategy and their optical properties were investigated under the light of AM 1.5.
Findings
The prepared dyes exhibit orange color with strong emission at λem = 530–570 nm due to charge transfer with a positive solvatochromic effect. The efficiency of DSSCs based on Dye1-4 1 is: 3.69%, 3.71%, 4.69% and 4.76%. Therefore, the power efficiency increases by about 29 % in the presence of acetylamine group.
Practical implications
The design of new structures of organic dyes should be accompanied by the development of optical and electrical properties. In other words, in addition to the continuous production of electrons, efficient dyes must also be resistant to light to increase the life of the device.
Social implications
Organic dyes play a key role in the production of electrons in the DSSCs structure. The engineering of these structures and the introduction of widely used but low cost types can play an important role in the development of clean energy production.
Originality/value
The application of organic dyes based on naphthalimide was evaluated in the DSSCs structure and its photovoltaic properties were investigated.
Details
Keywords
Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad, Kamaladin Gharanjig, Shahid Adeel and Alireza Mahmoudi Nahavandi
Agricultural waste and food sources are some of the pollutants of the environment. One of these wastes is the peel of fruits that cannot be consumed as food. In this regard…
Abstract
Purpose
Agricultural waste and food sources are some of the pollutants of the environment. One of these wastes is the peel of fruits that cannot be consumed as food. In this regard, walnut husk (WH) and oleaster peel (PO) are known as two important sources of tannin and are bulky wastes. Because of the high percentage of tannin, these materials can be used as a natural source for the preparation of bio-mordant in the dyeing process.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, Reseda and Madder were used as natural dyes in the presence of a mixture of two bio-mordants. WH and PO were selected as bio-mordant. All natural resources are extracted to obtain the juice. The phenolic percentage of tannin-containing extracts was evaluated and then it was used for wool yarns by premordanting method. The results of evaluating the fastness properties using the ISO method.
Findings
The most important achievement of this research is the use of agricultural waste in the dyeing process to reduce environmental pollution and create added value. All compounds rich in tannin have some phenolic components, therefore the amount of phenolic content of these extracts was evaluated. The effect of mixing the mordant on the color characteristics of the yarns was investigated and the results showed that changing the ratio of the combination of two mordant is effective on the K/S values. The results of evaluating the fastness properties using the ISO method showed that the washing, rubbing and light fastness in the presence of mordant is good, good and moderate, respectively.
Originality/value
In this paper, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, the combination of two natural extracts obtained from agricultural waste has been used to create a new bio-mordant on fibers and improve stability.