The Photochemical Conversion of Solar Energy into Electrical Energy: Eosin-D-Xylose System

Abstract

A photosensitizer-Eosin and a reductant-D-Xylose were used in the photogalvanic cell for photochemical conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. The generated photopotential and photocurrent were 825.0 mV and 250.0 μA, respectively, whereas maximum power of the cell was 206.25 μW. The observed power at the power point was 70.85 μW and conversion efficiency was 0.6812%. The experimentally determined fill factor at the power point of the photogalvanic cell was 0.2778. The photogalvanic cell so developed can work for 90.0 min in the dark if it is irradiated for 195.0 min only. The effects of different parameters on the electrical output of the photogalvanic cell were observed. A mechanism has also been proposed for the photogeneration of electrical energy.

Keywords:

• conversion efficiency
• fill factor
• performance
• photogalvanic cell
• power point

Notes

^a Absolute value.