Improving interfacial electron transfer and light harvesting in dye-sensitized solar cells by using Ag nanowire/TiO₂ nanoparticle composite films

Abstract

a Metallic Ag nanowires coated by TiO2 nanolayer (AgNWs@TiO2) were employed as electron conductor in the mesoporous photoanodes (developed by TiO2 nanoparticles, P25) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Our results demonstrate that the AgNWs@TiO2 (in an optimized content of 3 wt% in photoanode) improved the energy conversion efficiency (η) of the DSSC from 4.68 to 5.31% compared to the DSSC without AgNWs@TiO2 (pure P25). Such improvement could be mainly attributed to the reduced TiO2/dye/electrolyte interfacial charge transfer impedance. To our surprise, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and light scattering effects of the nanowires were found to substantially boost the incident photon-toelectron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of such DSSC. Regardless of the assembly techniques, our results demonstrate the possibilities of developing the photoanode with reduced interfacial impedance and superior light harvesting capability compared to the existing photoanodes in similar configuration by properly adjusting the AgNWs@TiO2 contents in the photoanode with P25 based composites.

Plasmonic Solar Cells: From Rational Design to Mechanism Overview

“…(2) In any case, where thermal treatment is involved in the fabrication process, noble metal nanostructures are likely to lose their optical properties due to deformation, agglomeration, or Ostwald ripening. For example, high-temperature annealing (∼500 °C) is necessary to fabricate DSSCs, and plasmonic metal nanostructures coated with SiO 2 or TiO 2 layers kept their shape after the annealing process, indicating that protective layers can provide thermal and structural stability. , (3) In conventional DSSCs where iodine-based liquid redox couple is used, rapid corrosion of noble metals easily damages the cells through the following reaction: …”

Ultra-Flexible Organic Photovoltaics with Nanograting Patterns Based on CYTOP/Ag Nanowires Substrate

“…The nanograting patterns on the photoactive layer caused an increase in the EQE in the entire wavelength region (especially in the long-wavelength region) owing to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect between the patterned photoactive layer and the metal electrode [19]. Similarly, the SPR effect was exhibited in the ultra-flexible device without nanograting patterns owing to the morphological characteristics of the Ag NWs [19,20].…”

AgNWs@TiO2 and AgNPs@TiO2 Double-Layer Photoanode Film Improving Light Capture and Application under Low Illumination

“…The material properties of AgNWs provided excellent electronic conductivity of the photoanode, and the unique LSPR effect of nanometals significantly improved the light capture, which was the reason for the increased JSC. Huang et al [21] reported that the improved efficiency of DSSC made by AgNWs@TiO2 is due to the decrease of the interface charge transfer resistance and the ion diffusion resistance in the electrolyte. It is worth noting that with the increase of nanometal, one-dimensional nanostructures (AgNWs) are overloaded, and the host (TiO2) is not able to maintain the electron path.…”