Corantes naturais como sensibilizadores em sistemas fotovoltaicos: fundamentos, desafios e o horizonte das perovskitas

Abstract

This work presents a systematic review on the use of natural dyes as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), focusing on their structural aspects, operational parameters, and the emerging technological prospects of perovskites. The research follows an exploratory-descriptive approach, based on scientific articles, prioritizing experimental studies that use pigments such as anthocyanins and chlorophylls. Key parameters were analyzed, including open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF), and energy conversion efficiency (η). The results show that, although natural dyes generally exhibit lower performance than synthetic ones, extracts from Alstroemeria, Alpinia purpurata, shea, baobab, cinnamon, blackberry, raspberry, and pomegranate proved promising, reaching efficiencies of up to 2.6%. It is concluded that natural dyes represent a viable, sustainable, and low-cost alternative for photovoltaic systems, especially in educational and experimental contexts. However, achieving high efficiencies with this approach remains a significant challenge — in this context, perovskites emerge as a promising alternative, combining high efficiency, flexibility, and real potential to replace silicon in future generations of solar cells.