Abstract
A periodic array of core–shell Cu@TiO2 nanoparticle for plasmonic dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in the wavelength range between 350 and 750 nm was studied. The size of copper nanospheres was 70 nm while the length and diameter of the copper nanorods were 100 and 10 nm, respectively. The UV–Visible absorption spectrum showed that the photo-anode based copper added TiO2 has 29.3% absorption capability compared with copper-free TiO2. TiO2 with shell thickness of 5 nm coated copper exhibited the absorption efficiency of 71.9%, while short circuit current density of 17.52 mA cm−2 for Ci@TiO2 photo-anode. This was attributed to a strong localized electric field around ultra-thin TiO2-coated copper nanospheres. The UV–Visible results of different geometries indicated that the spherical-shaped Cu@TiO2 nanoparticles induced the high absorption capability of 3.4% compared to rod-shaped Cu@TiO2 nanoparticles. The hybrid nanorods/nanospheres bilayer photo-anode showed the high optical UV–Visible absorption of 11.42% as compared with nanospheres/nanorods, ascribed to the large surface area for dye-loading excellent light scattering.
Highlights
In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), the conversion of photons into electric current begins with the absorption of light through sensitized dye molecules [1,2,3,4]
This enhancement is attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance excited by copper nanospheres which boosted up the optical performance of DSSC
We have systematically studied the different morphology of copper as plasmon nanoparticles in photo-anode to enhance the absorption efficiency of DSSCs
Summary
In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), the conversion of photons into electric current begins with the absorption of light through sensitized dye molecules [1,2,3,4]. Hao et al [26] demonstrated the addition of Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles in the active layer of organic solar cell, which resulted in enhancement of power conversion efficiency by 19.2% They linked this improvement to two key phenomena. Up to best of our knowledge, their research is still insufficient as it lacks systematic studies on the effect of plasmon enhancement for various shell thicknesses and geometries of core-shell Cu@TiO2 NPs. Since the optical intensity of the near field decreases quickly from the metal-dielectric boundary, LSPR should be optimized by changing the thickness of the shell to increase absorption efficiency. This study introduced core-shell Cu@TiO2 as active photo-anode material to improve the optical absorption efficiency of DSSC devices. The optical properties associated with these unique morphology and photo-anode structures will lead the copper nanoparticles for further development of solar cell technology
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