On the use of metal nanoparticles for enhancement of light absorption in dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles can be used to enhance light absorption in photovoltaic nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cells. Our calculations scrutinizing this idea indicate, however, that the ratio of the rate of the induced power absorption by dyes, surrounding a nanoparticle, and the rate of the power dissipation by a nanoparticle is typically much lower than 0.5. Thus, this enhancement of light absorption seems to be practically inefficient.