Photovoltaic Performance of Naphthol Blue Black Complexes and their Band Gap Energy

Along with the depletion of petroleum-based fuels, the development of renewable energy resources is a must. One of them is through DSSC (Dye Sensitized Solar Cells) technology, which has a dye sensitizer and semiconductor as the main components. The aim of this research is to investigating the photovoltaic performance of complexes series from metals (Mn(II); Fe(II); Co(II) and Ni(II)) and naphthol blue-black (NB) as a ligand. This investigation also successfully revealed factors that are highly influencing photovoltaic efficiency, namely the band-gap energy and the conductance of metal-NB complexes. The Fe(II)-NB complex has performed the highest photovoltaic activity as a result of the d-d electron transition and MLCT (Metal to Ligand Change Transfer) character which are covered by vivid color from the ligand. The bonding between metal and ligand was shown at a wavenumber of 316.33 cm^-1 for M-N bonding and 486.06 cm^-1 for M-O bonding. Fe(II)-NB complex had the narrowest band gap energy which is 5.86 eV and had the highest value of conductance and the highest efficiency, namely 0.0925%. This experiment successfully demonstrates that the narrower the energy gap of a molecule, the ability to transfer electrons is faster. Thus, the efficiency of the solar cell becomes higher. This investigation has proven that the narrow band gap makes the electron transfer becomes easier.