Photogalvanic cell: A new approach for green and sustainable chemistry

A comparative study of anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants on photogalvanic effect was studied in a photogalvanic cell containing dioctyl sulfosuccinate (DSS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and TritonX-100 as surfactants, rhodamine 6G as photosensitizer, and oxalic acid as reductant. Observed values of photopotential, photocurrent, fill factor, conversion efficiency, and storage capacity for DSS–rhodamine 6G–oxalic acid system was, respectively, 880.0 mV, 200 μA, 0.41, 0.86%, and 131.0 min, for CTAB–rhodamine 6G–oxalic acid system, 414.0 mV, 90.0 μA, 0.45, 0.24%, and 68.0 min, and for TritonX-100–rhodamine 6G–oxalic acid system, 672.0 mV, 165.0 μA, 0.38, 0.55%, and 96.0 min. The effects of different parameters on electrical output of the cell were observed and a tentative mechanism has also been proposed for the generation of photocurrent in photogalvanic cell.