The effect of Clathrin protein addition on increasing the number of electrons in organic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC)

Abstract

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is a solar cell that uses dyes to convert sunlight into electricity, which has a wide absorption spectrum, is inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Visible light sensitive dyes are used in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) types to generate electricity. Natural sensitive dyes that are commonly used in DSSC are chlorophyll derived from plants. Chlorophyll is a source of electrons which will be excited when exposed to light, resulting in an electric current in the DSSC. The most basic problem in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is that the number of electrons produced is still lower than that of silicon solar cells. This is due to the high recombination process of free electrons due to limited diffusion of electrons trapped at the boundary between TiO₂ particles caused by less than optimal contact between particles. Clathrin is a protein that plays an important role in the formation of the vesicle layer which is responsible for the transport of molecules in cells. As a protein that plays an important role in the cell transport system, Clathrin can bind to ions in order to transport cells. This study has proven that the addition of Clathrin protein to the DSSC layer can increase the number of electrons generated in the DSSC. The method used in this study was to vary the addition of Clathrin content to TiO₂, namely the Clathrin concentration of 0 %, 25 %, 50 % and 75 %. The results showed that increasing the Clathrin content would increase the electric current and the number of electrons generated by the DSSC, namely the 75 % Clathrin content with an electric current of 5,247 mA and the number of electrons was 3.28x10¹⁶