Hot Carrier Extraction Research Articles

Insights into the Femtosecond to Nanosecond Charge Carrier Kinetics in Perovskite Materials for Solar Cells

In this work, we analyze a few simple methods that permit getting insight into the charge dynamics in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskites, on the basis of femtosecond transient absorption and fluorescence studies. We show that proper determination of the charge population decay kinetics requires broad spectral integration of the long-wavelength bleach signal (∼760 nm) assigned to the band-filling effect, which can be realized, e.g., by band integral analysis. On the contrary, the kinetics related to a shorter-wavelength bleach band (∼480 nm) behave differently: a single-wavelength decay is sufficient to probe charge population. Moreover, both the shorter-wavelength excitation and higher pump pulse intensities result in significantly longer charge cooling times, which might be important in efficient hot carrier extraction. The validity of our previously proposed easy approach for the elimination of higher-order recombination rates is also discussed and confirmed in terms of proper estimation of...

Efficient Hot Electron Transfer in Quantum Dot-Sensitized Mesoporous Oxides at Room Temperature.

Hot carrier cooling processes represent one of the major efficiency losses in solar energy conversion. Losses associated with cooling can in principle be circumvented if hot carrier extraction toward selective contacts is faster than hot carrier cooling in the absorber (in so-called hot carrier solar cells). Previous work has demonstrated the possibility of hot electron extraction in quantum dot (QD)-sensitized systems, in particular, at low temperatures. Here we demonstrate a room-temperature hot electron transfer (HET) with up to unity quantum efficiency in strongly coupled PbS quantum dot-sensitized mesoporous SnO2. We show that the HET efficiency is determined by a kinetic competition between HET rate ( KHET) and thethermalization rate ( KTH) in the dots. KHET can be modulated by changing the excitation photon energy; KTH can be modified through the lattice temperature. DFT calculations demonstrate that the HET rate and efficiency are primarily determined by thedensity of the state (DoS) of QD and oxide. Our results provide not only a new way to achieve efficient hot electron transfer at room temperature but also new insights on the mechanism of HETand the means to control it.

(Invited) Quantum Dot/Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Hetero-Junction Interface Engineering for Efficient Infrared Solar Cells

Fulfilling the potential of solar power is essential toward the realization of a low-carbon society. In doing so, ultra-high efficiency solar cells play a crucial role, and several different concepts for ultra-high efficiency have been proposed: e. g. multiple exciton generation, hot-carrier extraction, intermediate band, multi-junction (M-J). Among these concepts, M-J solar cells based on III-V semiconductors are the only solar cells that have exceeded the single-junction limit (approximately 30% under one-sun illumination). However, the solar cells rely heavily on high cost solar cell technology, which makes a wide implementation of the solar cells difficult. We have been exploiting the potential of solution-processed M-J solar cells. In constructing M-J solar cells, OPVs, and perovskite solar cells can be used for the top and/or middle cells of M-J solar cells. However, there are few materials to choose from for the bottom cells that can operate in the short-wave infrared. Therefore, the development of low cost and efficient short-wave infrared solar cells is required. One of the promising candidates for use as the middle and/or bottom cells is lead chalcogenide colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) because the bandgap of bulk PbS is located in the infrared region (3.1 μm) and can be readily tuned by controlling quantum dot synthesis conditions. CQDs are compatible with low-temperature solution-based technologies. Although we see recent progress in solar cell performance of PbS CQD-based solar cells, there are many problems to be solved. The active layer thickness of the solar cells is needed to be thick enough to absorb solar energy in a wide range of the solar spectrum, particularly in the near-infrared and short-wave infrared region. The typical exciton diffusion length of the solar cells is approximately 200 nm in PbS QD/ZnO planar solar cells (Fig. 1 insert (a)). We then focused on PbS CQDs and ZnO nanowire (NW) to construct heterojunction structures to achieve simultaneous enhancement in carrier transport and light harvesting efficiency ((Fig. 1 insert (b)). Unlike PbS QD/ZnO planar structures, PbS QD/ZnO NW hybrid structures forming bulk-heterojuntion allow almost all the photo-generated carriers to reach the PbS QD/ZnO NW interface even when the active layer gets thicker than the carrier diffusion lengths [J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 4, 2455 (2013)]. Our recent study revealed that NW-type solar cells give an effective carrier diffusion length of over 1 μm [J. Phys. Chem. C, 119, 27265 (2015)]. The charge recombination at the interface is a major issue that degrades solar cell performance. Therefore, passivation of the surface of ZnO NWs is an effective way to suppress the recombination process at the interface. In fact, polyethylenimine treatment was successfully performed to decrease the intensity of the PL from defect states of ZnO NWs, which results in increasing the Voc of the NW-type solar cells by approximately 10%, compared to the untreated solar cells. Narrowing the bandgap is necessary to efficiently utilize the sun light. We synthesized different-sized PbS CQDs showing absorption bands in the wavelength region ranging from the visible to short-wave infrared (from 300 nm to 2000 nm). The external quantum efficiency (EQE) spectra of the ZnO NW type solar cells give an EQE peak originating from the first exciton absorption. From the EQE spectra, we confirmed that the solar cells were able to convert photon energy to electricity from 300 nm to 2000 nm (Fig. 1) [ACS Energy Lett., 2, 2110 (2017)]. The solar cells using PbS CQDs having the first exciton absorption peak locating at approximately 1510 nm produced an EQE of 30% at the peak, which is the highest value ever reported on the solution-processed solar cells. These features of PbS QD/ZnO NW solar cells show the high potential for the subcells of solution-processed M-J solar cells. The solar cells that can operate in the infrared region have other interesting features such as low Voc loss as well as relatively high Voc, which is as high as that of Ge solar cells. PbS QD/ZnO NW solar cells have been confirmed to have long-term stability in the air and under illumination [Phys. Stat. Sol. rrl, 8 (12), 961 (2014)]. 5-year air stability was also verified [Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater., 19, 336 (2018)]. Figure 1

Hot Charge Carrier Extraction from Semiconductor Quantum Dots

This article focus on the recent work carried out on hot charge carrier extraction from colloidal quantum dots (QDs). It has been contemplated that the quantum dot based solar cell (QDSC) can reach exceptionally high efficiencies if hot charge carriers can be extracted. However, the process requires excellent charge carrier separation from energetically hot states as compared to relaxation within QDs energy levels. Also, most of the studies were being carried out on thermal charge carrier extraction from QDs and very limited information was available on hot charge carrier extraction. In this Feature Article, we have discussed the work carried out on hot charge carrier extraction from QDs and the challenges involved in the process.

Hot carrier dynamics in plasmonic transition metal nitrides

Extraction of non-equilibrium hot carriers generated by plasmon decay in metallic nano-structures is an increasingly exciting prospect for utilizing plasmonic losses, but the search for optimum plasmonic materials with long-lived carriers is ongoing. Transition metal nitrides are an exciting class of new plasmonic materials with superior thermal and mechanical properties compared to conventional noble metals, but their suitability for plasmonic hot carrier applications remains unknown. Here, we present fully first principles calculations of the plasmonic response, hot carrier generation and subsequent thermalization of all group IV, V and VI transition metal nitrides, fully accounting for direct and phonon-assisted transitions as well as electron–electron and electron–phonon scattering. We find the largest frequency ranges for plasmonic response in ZrN, HfN and WN, between those of gold and silver, while we predict strongest absorption in the visible spectrum for the VN, NbN and TaN. Hot carrier generation is dominated by direct transitions for most of the relevant energy range in all these nitrides, while phonon-assisted processes dominate only below 1 eV plasmon energies primarily for the group IV nitrides. Finally, we predict the maximum hot carrier lifetimes to be around 10 fs for group IV and VI nitrides, a factor of 3–4 smaller than noble metals, due to strong electron–phonon scattering. However, we find longer carrier lifetimes for group V nitrides, comparable to silver for NbN and TaN, while exceeding 100 fs (twice that of silver) for VN, making them promising candidates for efficient hot carrier extraction.

(Invited) Tunable Photoelectrochemical Property of ZnTe-AgInTe2 Solid Solution Nanocrystals in the Near-IR Region

I-III-VI2 semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), including CuInS2, Cu(In,Ga)Se2, and AgInS2, have received intense attention as light-absorbing materials in solar energy conversion systems owning to their unique physicochemical properties, such as multiple exciton generation and hot-carrier extraction, originated from quantum size effect. In addition, I-III-VI2 semiconductors can easily form solid solutions with II-VI or other I-III-VI2 semiconductors, resulting in wide tunability in their electronic energy structure with chemical composition. So far we have successfully prepared ZnS-AgInS2 [1] and ZnSe-AgInSe2 [2] solid solution NCs and controlled their optical properties in visible-light region by changing their chemical compositions. Recently, much attention has been paid to near-infrared light (NIR)-absorbing semiconductor NCs for the application to solar energy conversion systems. We also reported the synthesis of highly NIR-luminescent AgInTe2 NCs of band gap energy at about 1.1 eV.[ 3] In this study, we report solution phase synthesis and photoelectrochemical property of ZnTe-AgInTe2 solid solution ((AgIn)xZn2(1 - x)Te2, ZAITe) NCs having a tunable optical properties in near-infrared light region. ZAITe NCs were synthesized by a thermal reaction of corresponding metal acetates and a Te precursor in 1-dodecanethiol at 180°C for 180 min. Photoelectrochemical properties of ZAITe NCs were measured in an aqueous solution containing 0.2 mol dm-3 Eu(NO3)3as an electron scavenger. The Ag/AgCl electrode and Pt wire were used as reference and counter electrodes, respectively. Prepared ZAITe NCs exhibited broad peaks in their XRD patterns, each peak position being gradually shifted to higher diffraction angle from the corresponding peak of hexagonal AgInTe2 to hexagonal ZnTe with an increase in Zn content in NCs, that is, with a decrease in the x value. This indicated the formation of solid solution NCs between ZnTe and AgInTe2. TEM measurement revealed that rod-shaped NCs were formed with width of ca. 4 nm and length of ca. 11 nm. The optical property of ZAITe NCs was controllable in the near-IR region by changing the composition of solid solution. The absorption onset of ZAITe NCs was blue-shifted from 1040 to 770 with a decrease in x from 1.0 to 0.25, indicating that their energy gap was enlarged from 1.2 to 1.6 eV with an increase in the Zn content in ZAITe NCs. These NCs exhibited near-band-edge PL peak located near the corresponding absorption onset, except for x = 0.25. The main PL peak observed for NCs with x= 0.25 was largely red-shifted from their absorption onset and then could be assigned to the emission with donor-acceptor pair recombination or the emission from defect sites. Photoelectron yield spectroscopy measurement enable to determine the composition-dependent electronic energy structure of ZAITe NCs. The energy level of conduction band edge (ECB) of ZAITe NCs became slightly higher from -3.4 to -3.1 eV vs. vacuum level with increasing Zn content in the products, while that of valence band edge (EVB) was nearly constant at ca. -4.7 eV, irrespective of xvalue. The photoelectrochemical properties of ZAITe NCs immobilized on ITO electrodes were measured in an Eu(NO3)3 aqueous solution by the irradiation with Xe lamp light. Cathodic photocurrents were observed regardless of xvalue, indicating that ZAITe NCs exhibited a photoresponse similar to a p-type semiconductor. The photoresponse was observed with near-IR light irradiation and then the photocurrent action spectra were in good agreement with absorption spectra of ZAITe NCs used. These demonstrate the potential use of ZAITe NCs as photovoltaic materials in near-infrared region. Reference [1] T. Torimoto, et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 2015, 119, 24740. [2] T. Kameyama, et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2014, 118, 29517. [3] T. Kameyama, et al., Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 5435.

Plasmonic hot electron transport drives nano-localized chemistry

Nanoscale localization of electromagnetic fields near metallic nanostructures underpins the fundamentals and applications of plasmonics. The unavoidable energy loss from plasmon decay, initially seen as a detriment, has now expanded the scope of plasmonic applications to exploit the generated hot carriers. However, quantitative understanding of the spatial localization of these hot carriers, akin to electromagnetic near-field maps, has been elusive. Here we spatially map hot-electron-driven reduction chemistry with 15 nm resolution as a function of time and electromagnetic field polarization for different plasmonic nanostructures. We combine experiments employing a six-electron photo-recycling process that modify the terminal group of a self-assembled monolayer on plasmonic silver nanoantennas, with theoretical predictions from first-principles calculations of non-equilibrium hot-carrier transport in these systems. The resulting localization of reactive regions, determined by hot-carrier transport from high-field regions, paves the way for improving efficiency in hot-carrier extraction science and nanoscale regio-selective surface chemistry.

Effects of Interlayer Coupling on Hot‐Carrier Dynamics in Graphene‐Derived van der Waals Heterostructures

Graphene exhibits promise as a plasmonic material with high mode confinement that could enable efficient hot carrier extraction. The lifetimes and mean free paths of energetic carriers have been investigated in free‐standing graphene, graphite, and a heterostructure consisting of alternating graphene and hexagonal boron nitride layers using ab initio calculations of electron–electron and electron–phonon scattering in these materials. It is found that the extremely high lifetimes (3 ps) of low‐energy carriers near the Dirac point in graphene, which are a 100 times larger than that in noble metals, are reduced by an order of magnitude due to interlayer coupling in graphite, but enhanced in the heterostructure due to phonon mode clamping. However, these lifetimes drop precipitously with increasing carrier energy and are smaller than those in noble metals at energies exceeding 0.5 eV. By analyzing the contribution of different scattering mechanisms and interlayer interactions, desirable spacer layer characteristics—high dielectric constant and heavy atoms—that could pave the way for plasmonic heterostructures with improved hot carrier transport have been identified.

Slow cooling and highly efficient extraction of hot carriers in colloidal perovskite nanocrystals

Hot-carrier solar cells can overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit by harvesting excess energy from hot carriers. Inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals are considered prime candidates. However, hot-carrier harvesting is compromised by competitive relaxation pathways (for example, intraband Auger process and defects) that overwhelm their phonon bottlenecks. Here we show colloidal halide perovskite nanocrystals transcend these limitations and exhibit around two orders slower hot-carrier cooling times and around four times larger hot-carrier temperatures than their bulk-film counterparts. Under low pump excitation, hot-carrier cooling mediated by a phonon bottleneck is surprisingly slower in smaller nanocrystals (contrasting with conventional nanocrystals). At high pump fluence, Auger heating dominates hot-carrier cooling, which is slower in larger nanocrystals (hitherto unobserved in conventional nanocrystals). Importantly, we demonstrate efficient room temperature hot-electrons extraction (up to ∼83%) by an energy-selective electron acceptor layer within 1 ps from surface-treated perovskite NCs thin films. These insights enable fresh approaches for extremely thin absorber and concentrator-type hot-carrier solar cells.

Slow cooling and efficient extraction of C-exciton hot carriers in MoS2 monolayer

In emerging optoelectronic applications, such as water photolysis, exciton fission and novel photovoltaics involving low-dimensional nanomaterials, hot-carrier relaxation and extraction mechanisms play an indispensable and intriguing role in their photo-electron conversion processes. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted much attention in above fields recently; however, insight into the relaxation mechanism of hot electron-hole pairs in the band nesting region denoted as C-excitons, remains elusive. Using MoS2 monolayers as a model two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide system, here we report a slower hot-carrier cooling for C-excitons, in comparison with band-edge excitons. We deduce that this effect arises from the favourable band alignment and transient excited-state Coulomb environment, rather than solely on quantum confinement in two-dimension systems. We identify the screening-sensitive bandgap renormalization for MoS2 monolayer/graphene heterostructures, and confirm the initial hot-carrier extraction for the C-exciton state with an unprecedented efficiency of 80%, accompanied by a twofold reduction in the exciton binding energy.

Can Exciton-Delocalizing Ligands Facilitate Hot Hole Transfer from Semiconductor Nanocrystals?

Exciton-delocalizing ligands (EDLs) are of interest to researchers due to their ability to allow charge carriers to spread into the ligand shell of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs). By increasing charge carrier surface accessibility, EDLs may facilitate the extraction of highly photoexcited carriers from NCs prior to their relaxation to the band edge, a process that can boost the performance of NC-based photocatalysts and light harvesting systems. However, hot carrier extraction must compete with carrier cooling, which could be accelerated by the stronger interaction of charge carriers and EDLs. This report describes the influence of the EDL phenyldithiocarbamate (PTC) on the electron and hole cooling rates of CdSe NCs. Using state-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy, we find that PTC treatment accelerates hole cooling by a factor of 1.7. However, upon further treatment of these NCs with cadmium(II) acetate, the hole cooling rate reverts to the value measured prior to PTC treatment, yet these NCs m...

Hot Carrier Extraction from Multilayer Graphene.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVAddition/CorrectionNEXTORIGINAL ARTICLEThis notice is a correctionHot Carrier Extraction from Multilayer GrapheneRoberto Urcuyo, Dinh Loc Duong, Patrick Sailer, Marko Burghard*, and Klaus KernCite this: Nano Lett. 2016, 16, 12, 8036Publication Date (Web):November 21, 2016Publication History Published online21 November 2016Published inissue 14 December 2016https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04812Copyright © 2016 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views473Altmetric-Citations-LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (102 KB) Get e-Alerts Get e-Alerts

Hot Carrier Extraction from Multilayer Graphene.

Hot carriers in semiconductor or metal nanostructures are relevant, for instance, to enhance the activity of oxide-supported metal catalysts or to achieve efficient photodetection using ultrathin semiconductor layers. Moreover, rapid collection of photoexcited hot carriers can improve the efficiency of solar cells, with a theoretical maximum of 85%. Because of the long lifetime of secondary excited electrons, graphene is an especially promising two-dimensional material to harness hot carriers for solar-to-electricity conversion. However, the photoresponse of thus far realized graphene photoelectric devices is mainly governed by thermal effects, which yield only a very small photovoltage. Here, we report a Gr-TiOx-Ti heterostructure wherein the photovoltaic effect is predominant. By doping the graphene, the open circuit voltage reaches values up to 0.30 V, 2 orders of magnitude larger than for devices relying upon the thermoelectric effect. The photocurrent turned out to be limited by trap states in the few-nanometer-thick TiOx layer. Our findings represent a first valuable step toward the integration of graphene into third-generation solar cells based upon hot carrier extraction.

Optoelectronic characterization of carrier extraction in a hot carrier photovoltaic cell structure

A hot carrier photovoltaic cell requires extraction of electrons on a timescale faster than they can lose energy to the lattice. We optically and optoelectronically characterize two resonant tunneling structures, showing their compatability with hot carrier photovoltaic operation, demonstrating structural and carrier extraction properties necessary for such a device. In particular we use time resolved and temperature dependent photoluminescence to determine extraction timescales and energy levels in the structures and demonstrate fast carrier extraction by tunneling. We also show that such devices are capable of extracting photo-generated electrons at high carrier densities, with an open circuit voltage in excess of 1 V.

Hot Carrier Extraction with Plasmonic Broadband Absorbers.

Hot charge carrier extraction from metallic nanostructures is a very promising approach for applications in photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and photodetection. One limitation is that many metallic nanostructures support a single plasmon resonance thus restricting the light-to-charge-carrier activity to a spectral band. Here we demonstrate that a monolayer of plasmonic nanoparticles can be assembled on a multistack layered configuration to achieve broadband, near-unit light absorption, which is spatially localized on the nanoparticle layer. We show that this enhanced light absorbance leads to ∼40-fold increases in the photon-to-electron conversion efficiency by the plasmonic nanostructures. We developed a model that successfully captures the essential physics of the plasmonic hot electron charge generation and separation in these structures. This model also allowed us to establish that efficient hot carrier extraction is limited to spectral regions where (i) the photons have energies higher than the Schottky junctions and (ii) the absorption of light is localized on the metal nanoparticles.

Materials for hot carrier plasmonics [Invited

While the field of plasmonics has grown significantly in recent years, the relatively high losses and limited material choices have remained a challenge for the development of many device concepts. The decay of plasmons into hot carrier excitations is one of the main loss mechanisms; however, this process offers an opportunity for the direct utilization of loss if excited carriers can be collected prior to thermalization. From a materials point-of-view, noble metals (especially gold and silver) are almost exclusively employed in these hot carrier plasmonic devices; nevertheless, many other materials may offer advantages for collecting these hot carriers. In this manuscript, we present results for 16 materials ranging from pure metals and alloys to nanowires and graphene and show their potential applicability for hot carrier excitation and extraction. By considering the expected hot carrier distributions based on the electron density of states for the materials, we predict the preferred hot carrier type for collection and their expected performance under different illumination conditions. By considering materials not traditionally used in plasmonics, we find many promising alternative materials for the emerging field of hot carrier plasmonics.

Hot carrier extraction using energy selective contacts and its impact on the limiting efficiency of a hot carrier solar cell

Extraction of charge carriers from a hot carrier solar cell using energy selective contacts and the impact on limiting power conversion efficiency are analyzed. It is shown that assuming isentropic conversion of carrier heat into voltage implies zero power output at all operating points. Under conditions of power output, lower voltages than in the isentropic case are obtained due to the irreversible entropy increase associated with carrier flow. This lowers the limiting power conversion efficiency of a hot carrier solar cell.

Demonstration of a hot-carrier photovoltaic cell

We demonstrate a new hot-carrier photovoltaic cell based on the resonant tunnelling of hot electrons from a narrow-band-gap semiconductor to a wider-band-gap semiconductor. Hot electrons are photogenerated at a variety of wavelengths in a GaAs absorber followed by resonant tunnelling through a double-barrier quantum well into an AlGaAs collector, forming an energy-selective interface in the centre of the device. We show theoretically the presence of a tunnel current from the absorber to the collector under illumination, offering a method to extract carriers from a hot-electron distribution at zero bias. We experimentally demonstrate a hot-carrier photovoltaic cell based on this concept. Two features of its measured current–voltage characteristic, namely the peak to valley current ratio and the current peak voltage, are shown to vary with the wavelength of illumination in a way that clearly demonstrates hot-carrier extraction. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Making Solar Cells a Reality in Every Home: Opportunities and Challenges for Photovoltaic Device Design

Globally, the cumulative installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity has topped the 100-gigawatt (GW) milestone and is expected to reach 200 GW by the year 2015. More than 90% of the installed PV capacity employs bulk-silicon solar cells. Engineering problems that include thermal and optical challenges have not permitted the large-scale commercialization of concentration PV systems, lack of functional reliability-and the concomitant lack of economic bankability-being a major barrier. For increasing the efficiency of single-junction cells beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit, several approaches based on concepts such as multiple exciton generation, carrier multiplication, hot-carrier extraction, etc., have been proposed; however, these do not seem to be commercially viable. Since both bulk-silicon and thin-film (amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide) solar cells remain as the only two commercially viable options for terrestrial PV applications, a multi-terminal multi-junction architecture appears promising for inexpensive PV electricity generation with efficiency exceeding the currently feasible 25%. The architecture exploits the present commercial silicon solar cells along with abundant and ultra-low-cost materials such as Cu2O. With the availability of well-controlled manufacturing processes at the sub 2-nm length scale, it will become possible to manufacture ultra-high efficiency and ultra-low cost PV electricity generation modules based on silicon.

Plasmonic Electrically Functionalized TiO2 for High‐Performance Organic Solar Cells

AbstractOptical effects of the plasmonic structures and the materials effects of the metal nanomaterials have recently been individually studied for enhancing performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). Here, the effects of plasmonically induced carrier generation and enhanced carrier extraction of the carrier transport layer (i.e., plasmonic‐electrical effects) in OSCs are investigated. Enhanced charge extraction in TiO2 as a highly efficient electron transport layer by the incorporation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is proposed and demonstrated. Efficient device performance is demonstrated by using Au NPs incorporated TiO2 at a plasmonic wavelength (560–600 nm), which is far longer than the originally necessary UV light. By optimizing the concentration ratio of the Au NPs in the NP‐TiO2 composite, the performances of OSCs with various polymer active layers are enhanced and efficiency of 8.74% is reached. An integrated optical and electrical model, which takes into account plasmonic‐induced hot carrier tunneling probability and extraction barrier between TiO2 and the active layer, is introduced. The enhanced charge extraction under plasmonic illumination is attributed to the strong charge injection of plasmonically excited electrons from NPs into TiO2. The mechanism favors trap filling in TiO2, which can lower the effective energy barrier and facilitate carrier transport in OSCs.