Sappanwood-derived green luminescent carbon dots for enhancing performance of dye-sensitized solar cell

Carbon dots (CD) are versatile nanomaterials which exhibit unique properties depending on their source of synthesis. For instance, CD synthesized from chemical sources require passivation agents, while those derived from natural sources are self-passivated. These CD possess vibrant luminescence offering potential applications across various scientific and engineering domains. In this investigation, Brazilwood (sappanwood) is being used to synthesize CD via a hydrothermal process. The resultant CD demonstrated outstanding optical properties with a fluorescence lifetime of 3.52 ns and an average particle size of 4.25 nm. Utilizing these CD as co-sensitizers in a dye-sensitized solar cell, alongside N719 dye, increased efficiency by more than tenfold (4.16%) compared to the device solely sensitized with CD (0.38%). Such CD can be used for developing better efficient devices.