Abstract
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are fabricated with freestanding TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) which are incorporated with Au nanoparticles (NPs) and carbon materials via electrodeposition and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method to create a plasmonic effect and better electron transport that will enhance their energy conversion efficiency (ECE). The ECE of DSSCs based on the freestanding TNTAs is 5.87%. The ECE of DSSCs, based on the freestanding TNTAs with Au NPs or carbon materials, is 6.57% or 6.59%, respectively, and the final results of DSSCs according to the freestanding TNTAs with Au NPs and carbon materials is increased from 5.87% to 7.24%, which is an enhancement of 23.34% owing to plasmonic effect and better electron transport. Au NPs are incorporated into the channel of freestanding TNTAs and are characterized by CS-corrected-field emission transmission electron microscope (Cs-FE-TEM) and elemental mapping. Carbon materials are also well-incorporated in the channel of freestanding TNTAs and are analyzed by Raman spectroscopy.
Highlights
Since the first works by O’Regan and Grätzel in 1991 [1], dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been studied due to their high-energy conversion efficiency and low-cost features
After being sintered at 500 ◦C, carbon materials are synthesized by chemical vapor deposition as shown in Figure 1b and Au NPs are incorporated into the channel of freestanding TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) by electrodeposition methods as shown in Figure 1c [35,36,37]
Au NPs were incorporated into the channel of freestanding TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) by means of the electrodeposition method, with carbon materials synthesized on the freestanding TNTAs through the chemical vapor deposition (CDV) method
Summary
Since the first works by O’Regan and Grätzel in 1991 [1], dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been studied due to their high-energy conversion efficiency and low-cost features. They have likewise been expanded to the other solar cells, such as solid-state solar cells and perovskite solar cells. The electrons on the mesoporous TiO2 NPs are transported to mesoporous-structured TiO2 NPs, which are called to the electron transport, whereas the electrons are re-transferred from mesoporous TiO2 NPs to the transparent electrode After they are circulated, the electrons are transferred to counter-electrodes, which consist of Pt and transparent electrode. The energy conversion efficiency (ECE) of DSSCs is determined by electron transport and electron generation
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