Energy & Fuels, Vol.23, 2767-2772, 2009
Studies of the Micellar Effect on Photogalvanics: Solar Energy Conversion and Storage in EDTA-safranine O-Tween-80 System
The studies of the micellar effect on photogalvanics was done for solar energy conversion and storage in photogalvanic cell containing Tween-80 (polyoxyethylene-20-sorbitan monooleate) as neutral micellar species, EDTA as reductant and Safranine 0 as photosensitizer. The photopotential and photocurrent generated were 785.0 mV and 300.0 mu A, respectively. The observed conversion efficiency was 0.9769%, the fill factor was 0.34 and the maximum power of the cell was 235.50 mu W, whereas the power at the power point of the photogalvanic cell was 101.60 mu W. The rate of initial generation of current was 80.0 mu A min(-1). The photogalvanic cell can be used for 60.0 minutes in the dark. The effects of different parameters on the electrical output of the photogalvanic cell was observed and a mechanism has also been proposed for the generation of photocurrent in the photogalvanic cell.