Abstract
This study investigated the different thicknesses of TiO2 photoanode films and the effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites on the current-voltage (I–V) performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The TiO2 layer was deposited using the doctor blade technique and the thickness of the TiO2 films was controlled by using a different number of Scotch tape layers. The silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were synthesised using a chemical reduction method and the concentration of sodium citrate as a reducing agent was varied from 4 to 12 mM to study the effect of citrate ion on the size of the nanoparticles. Ag-TiO2 nanopowder was prepared by adding pure anatase TiO2 powder into AgNP colloidal solution. The mixture was left to dry for 24 h to obtain Ag-TiO2 powder for paste preparation. The three-layer Scotch tape, with thickness of 14.38 µm, achieved a high efficiency of 4.14%. This results showed that three layers was the optimal thickness to improve dye loading and to reduce the charge recombination rate. As for the Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites, 10 mM of AgNP, with a mean diameter of 65.23 nm and high efficiency of 6.92%, proved that SPR can enhance the absorption capability of dye and improve the photon-to-electron generation.
Highlights
IntroductionDye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have been an object of research since they were discovered in 1991 by Grätzel and O’Regan as an alternative to conventional solid-state photovoltaic (PV) cells
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have been an object of research since they were discovered in 1991 by Grätzel and O’Regan as an alternative to conventional solid-state photovoltaic (PV) cells.DSSC have several unique advantages, such as low-cost production, being environmentally friendly, flexible, lightweight, and showing good performance under lowlight illumination conditions [1,2].In the conventional solid state PV, known as first-generation PV cells, photon absorption and electron transport would occur in the crystalline silicon p-n junctions [3]
Flexible thin-film solar cells are categorised as second-generation PV cells that have drastically reduced the cost of production
Summary
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have been an object of research since they were discovered in 1991 by Grätzel and O’Regan as an alternative to conventional solid-state photovoltaic (PV) cells. In the conventional solid state PV, known as first-generation PV cells, photon absorption and electron transport would occur in the crystalline silicon p-n junctions [3]. This solid state cell is a frontier in PV technology that has contributed to 80% of the world PV market. To overcome the issue of high production cost, thin-film solar cells based on amorphous silicon and cadmium telluride (CdTe) materials were introduced.
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