A narrative review on vital criteria of fungal dyes as dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)

Pirdaus, Nur Alfarina; Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus; Ahmad, Nurfadzilah; Wan-Mohtar, Wan Abd Al Qadr Imad

Abstract

The main two reasons for the shift to renewable energy are the depletion and the harmful effects of non-renewable energy, such as burning coal and fossil fuels. As a result, the use of solar cells as renewable energy resources, that prioritise high efficiency while lowering production costs, can provide a promising future for sustaining energy resources. Solar cells have been developed starting with the monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar cells (first generation), non-crystalline and thin film solar cells (second generation) and organic solar cells (third generation). The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a new type of solar cell that has gained popularity due to its ability to convert energy at a low cost, ease of fabrication, and non-toxic nature. This paper explores the use of fungal colours as natural dyes for DSSC due to their wide range of colours, large yields, sustainable supply and non-toxic. Natural fungal colours can be extracted using proper extraction conditions and methods. Although fungal dyes have several limitations like instability, non-resistance to harsh conditions, colour loss during processing or storage and limited profitable yield, they still have promising future prospects to overcome the poor interaction of natural sensitizer with semiconductor together with other advantages of fungal colour. DSSC with dye from crude extracts from Cortinarius fungi exhibited the highest efficiency of 0.64% among reported DSSC with fungal dye.

Citation

Pirdaus, N. A., Muhammad-Sukki, F., Ahmad, N., & Wan-Mohtar, W. A. A. Q. I. (2024). A narrative review on vital criteria of fungal dyes as dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Discover Applied Sciences, 6(10), Article 553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-024-06256-8

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Oct 4, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 15, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 15, 2024
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 10
• Article Number: 553
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-024-06256-8
• Keywords: Dye, Fungal colour, Solar photovoltaic, Dye-sensitized solar cell, Natural dye, Mushroom