The photochemical conversion of solar energy into electrical energy: Eosin–Arabinose system

A photosensitizer -Eosin and a reductant- Arabinose have been used in the photogalvanic cell for photochemical conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. The generated photopotential and photocurrent are 679.0 mV and 240.0 μA respectively. The maximum power of the cell is 162.96 μW whereas the observed power at power point is 73.08 μW. The conversion efficiency is 0.7026% and the fill factor is 0.2856 at the power point of the photogalvanic cell. The photogalvanic cell so developed can work for 85.0 min in dark if it is irradiated for 140.0 min i.e. the storage capacity of photogalvanic cell is 60.71%. The effects of different parameters on the electrical output of the photogalvanic cell have been observed. A mechanism has also been proposed for the photogeneration of electrical energy.