Improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell via tuning the Au plasmons inlaid TiO2 nanotube array photoanode

Plasmonic enhancement is an effective method to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The size and amount of plasmon play key roles in plasmonic effect; however, the report on the relationship between morphology and processing of plasmon is rare. In thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied electrochemistry 2018-10, Vol.48 (10), p.1139-1149
Main Authors: Chen, Jia, Guo, Min, Su, Haijun, Zhang, Jun, Liu, Lin, Huang, Haitao, Xie, Keyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Dye-sensitized solar cells
Dyes
Electrochemistry
Energy conversion efficiency
Gold
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Irradiation
Light scattering
Morphology
Nanoparticles
Nanotubes
Optical properties
Photoanodes
Photochemistry
Photoelectric effect
Photoelectric emission
Photoelectricity
Photovoltaic cells
Physical Chemistry
Plasmons
Research Article
Titanium dioxide
Tuning
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Summary:Plasmonic enhancement is an effective method to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The size and amount of plasmon play key roles in plasmonic effect; however, the report on the relationship between morphology and processing of plasmon is rare. In this work, a series of Au nanoparticles (NPs) inlaid into TiO 2 nanotube (NT) based photoanodes have been synthesized through tuning HAuCl 4 solution concentration and irradiation time during the photoreduction process. Meanwhile, the optical and photoelectrical properties of these plasmonic DSSCs have also been verified. The results demonstrate that the optimized plasmonic DSSC (irradiation time: 5 min, solution concentration: 0.5 mM) showed a 19.0% improvement of PCE, compared to the reference DSSC without Au NPs. The improved PCE is mainly attributed to the enhanced photocurrent generated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of small sized Au NPs as well as light scattering effect of large sized particles. Graphical Abstract
ISSN:0021-891X
1572-8838
DOI:10.1007/s10800-018-1220-4