High Photoabsorption and Photostability of Photosesitizers for Kaolinite-Bixin Solar Cells

Natural pigments have low photostability due to the nature of their molecular structures. The conjugated structures lead the pigment molecules to be degraded quickly by the UV radiation. In this work, bixin is used as natural pigments for photosensitizers. Kaolinite is employed as a barrier to protect the bixin from degradation. Impregnating bixin into kaolinite forms more stable molecular structures which improve photostability of the bixin. Moreover, kaolinite can serve as a carrier material which allows the transfer of electrons from bixin to kaolinite molecules through the hydrogen bonds that form between them. As results, kaolinite does not only slow down the bixin photodegradation rate, but also improve bixin photoabsorption capability