A Study of the Performance of the Photogalvanic Cells for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage: Methyl Orange–D-Xylose–NaLS System

Abstract

The most promising photochemical approach to achieve a better performance of a photogalvanic cell was studied in a photogalvanic system containing Methyl Orange as the photosensitizer, D-Xylose as the reductant, and Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (NaLS) as the surfactant for increasing the solar energy conversion efficiency and storage capacity. The observed values of the photogeneration of photopotential and photocurrent were 890.0 mV and 480.0 μA, respectively. The maximum power of the cell was 427.20 μW, whereas the observed power at the power point was 168.95 μW. The conversion efficiency was 1.6245% and the fill factor 0.3214 was experimentally determined at the power point of the photogalvanic cell. The rate of initial generation of the photocurrent was 69.44 μA min⁻¹, whereas the photogalvanic cell so developed can work for 160.0 min in the dark if it is irradiated for 165 min only.

Keywords:

• conversion efficiency
• methyl orange
• performance
• photocurrent
• sodium lauryl sulphate

Notes

^a Methyl Orange = 8.80 × 10⁻⁵ M; D-Xylose = 1.12 × 10⁻³ M; NaLS = 6.40 × 10⁻³ M; Light intensity = 10.4 mW cm⁻²; pH = 12.81; Temperature = 299 K.