Garcinia mangostana, commonly known as mangosteen, is often referred to as the “queen of fruits” for its delicious flavor and numerous health benefits. Mangosteen has also attracted attention in recent dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) studies as the dye extracted from the fruit’s purple-red pericarp has exceeded many natural dyes in DSSC efficiency. In short, this dye is promising for the development of a natural products-based, sustainable DSSC, as it is a highly effective transporter of photoexcited electrons into the solar cell to be converted into electricity. The purpose of this study was to optimize the dye extraction from the mangosteen pericarp for use in DSSC applications. Previous studies have indicated that rutin, a prominent dye molecule in the mangosteen pericarp, is the main contributing factor to DSSC efficiency. However, the results from this study suggest that extracting cyanidins, another group of dye molecules present in the pericarp, in acidic conditions increases DSSC current substantially when compared to extractions of rutin in neutral conditions.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/urs_2016/1005/thumbnail.jp
