Hydrogen peroxide assisted synthesis of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from teak leaves for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (FCNs) have emerged as promising sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) owing to their unique optical properties and low-cost fabrication. In this study, we synthesized three different types of FCNs, such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-assisted FCNs (FCN_H), hydrothermal-assisted FCNs (FCN_A), and pyrolysis-assisted (FCN_P). Among them, FCN_H-based DSSCs exhibited superior fluorescence properties, indicating effective surface oxidation by H₂O₂. Then we fabricated DSSCs using FCN_P, FCN_A, and FCN_H as sensitizers and evaluated their photovoltaic activity. The results revealed that FCN_H-based DSSCs exhibited superior performance compared to FCN_P-based and FCN_A-based DSSCs with an open circuit voltage (V_OC) of 0.43 V, a short circuit current (I_SC) of 0.52 mA, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.45. The superior performance of FCN_H-based DSSCs can be attributed to the improved charge transfer and fluorescence properties of the FCNs after surface oxidation with H₂O₂. These findings emphasize the significance of surface oxidation in optimizing the performance of FCNs in DSSCs and suggest the potentiality of FCN_H as an efficient sensitizer in renewable energy as well as energy harvesting applications for wearable platforms.