Photogalvanic solar conversion and storage by using Thionine as photosensitizer and EDTA as reductant in the presence of CTAB as surfactant

The photogalvanic effect of photosensitizer – reductant as Thionine and EDTA has been studied in presence of surfactant CTAB (Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide) for solar energy conversion and storage. The photopotential and photocurrent generated by this cell were 662mV and 150μA, respectively. The power of the cell was 53.5μW at its power point. The observed conversion efficiency was 0.5144% and fill factor was determined as 0.50. The photogalvanic cell can be used in dark for 50min., showing the storage capacity of the cell against charging time was 190 min. The Effects of different parameters on electrical output of the cell were observed and a mechanism has also been proposed for the generation of photocurrent in photogalvanic cell.