Fabrication and characterization of titania/poly (3-dodecylthiopene)/red seaweed as hybrid solar cell

In this research, hybrid solar cells which consist of a combination of organic red seaweed (RS) (Kappaphycus alvarezii) and poly (3-dodecylthiophene) (P3DT) with inorganic titania nanocrystals (TiO2 NCs) materials are fabricated. These hybrid solar cells are fabricated in bilayer heterojunction of ITO/TiO2 NCs/P3DT/RS/Au via electrochemistry method using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The optical, electrical properties and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of these hybrid solar cells that can absorb over a broad range of light spectrum were studied. The UV-Vis spectra showed that TiO2 NCs, P3DT and RS were absorbed over a wide range of light spectrum which were 200-300 nm, 300-900 nm and 250-670 nm; respectively. The FTIR spectra of the RS showed the presence of carbonyl and hydroxyl group which was responsible for a good sensitizer for these hybrid solar cells. The electrical conductivity of ITO/ (1) TiO2 NCs/P3DT/RS thin film under the light radiation of 100 Wm(-2) was 0.288 Scm(-1), while for PCE, it was 2.0 %.