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RESULTS

Figure 1 Regular Cell Graph

Figure 2 Berry Reduction Graph

Figure 3 Squished Berry Graph

In Figure 1 the regular Photovolatic Cell’s curve is portrayed. The Cell was tested on different Voltages than the DSSCs this is due to the size different and the sheer fact DSSCs aren’t as efficient regular solar panels, yet. The DSSCs usually open looped at around 1 Volt and so they were only tested to .4V so that a proper curve could be observed. The regular solar panel increases exponentially because at 2 Volts it produced ~100 microamps then at 2.5 Volts it produced ~400 microamps, when a linear graph would only go up another ~100 microamps. In Figure 2, the curve of the Berry Reduction Cell is portrayed. The Cell was only tested from .01 V to .4V due to the scale of the Cell compared to the regular PV Cell. This Cell’s curve is more linear as at around .2 V it is around -20 amps, but at .3 V it was at around 17 microamps, when a exponential graph would be around 25-30 microamps. The Squished Berry Cell was also tested from .01 V to .4V, as seen in Figure 3, since it was the same size as the other DSSC, for consistency. Here the curve looks like the regular solar panel. Where at .2 V the rate of change is more exponential than Figure 2. This means that the Squished Berry Cell did better, in comparison to the regular Solar Cell.

DISCUSSION

To reiterate, the goal of this study was to find a way to make DSSCs more efficient, in comparison, to regular Solar Cells. More specifically, how to dye them more efficiently. DSSCs should first perform similarly to regular Solar Cells before improvements upon efficiency can be made. The efficiency was graphed on an IV Curve to visualize the efficiency. The negative values were key in to knowing if the cell even produced statistically significant data. Every time we recorded newly made cells due to their low lifespan. DSSCs life span is directly connected to the leakage of the Potassium Iodide from the inside of the cell. The less free electrons there are, the less current the cell can create. The significance of knowing that squishing berries for dye is better is that we can start to improve upon other parts of the fabrication of DSSCs. As we improve each step of the fabrication process, the more efficient the cells can become. Further research can look in to the application of either the soot layer or the paste itself. The soot layer, or the carbon layer, could be studied to see if a better application of it can improve efficiency.

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