The extraction and absorption study of natural dye from Areca catechu for dye sensitized solar cell application

Natural dye from local plant has a potential to replace the synthetic dye due to the lower environmental impact and simple processing method. This study focus on the properties of natural dye (Betalain) from Areca catechu, extracted using different solvents, namely hexane, ethanol, acetonitrile, and methanol. Different extracting solvent were used to observe the absorption spectra by using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) were used to characterize the dye’s active components at (4000 – 650) cm−1. From the FTIR result, the CO=OH which corresponds to the carboxylic group in betalain dye is observed. Hexane was appeared to be the best solvents according to the highest absorbance obtained from betalain. The optimum pH and temperature for extraction were also identified at pH 4.5 and 65 °C. At these conditions, the absorbance was the highest.