Comparative Study of BaSnO₃ and TiO₂-Based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Utilizing Complex Ruthenium-Derived N719 Dye

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are garnering significant interest because of their cost-effective production process and promising potential for future prospects. This paper presents an innovative approach to the fabrication of DSSCs. Further, a comparative study of DSSCs has been carried to evaluate the performance of the solar cells. BaSnO₃ (BSO)- and TiO₂-based DSSCs were fabricated with the incorporation of a ruthenium-based N719 dye [(Bu₄N)₂(Ru)(dcbpyH)₂(NCS)₂]. The sol–gel technique, facilitated by a microwave oven, was employed for the synthesis of the solar cell materials. Subsequently, these materials were deposited on a fluorine-doped SnO₂ glass substrate via doctor blade method. Comprehensive analysis of the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the powder and FTO/BSO/N719/electrolyte/Pt and FTO/TiO₂/N719/electrolyte/Pt cells was conducted using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy, and current–voltage (J–V) characteristics. The BSO DSSC demonstrated higher incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency in the UV–Vis region and better overall performance than the TiO₂-based cell with a similar experimental environment. The BSO-based DSSC exhibited maximum conversion efficiency (ƞ) of 2.64%, whereas the TiO₂-based DSSC demonstrated maximum conversion efficiency of 2.19%.