Use of surface plasmon resonance effect of the Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) towards the photophysical properties of CdS quantum dot sensitized TiO2 based solar cells (QDSSCs) was investigated under the illumination of 100 mW cm -2 (AM 1.5). Depositions of CdS on TiO2 electrodes were carried out by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method with optimized ten cycles. Current voltage characteristics of QDSSCs fabricated with optimum amount of Ag NPs (0.2 % w/v) in TiO2 showed ~ 26% increment in the power conversion efficiency from 1.09 to 1.37%. Surface morphological studies of photoanodes were carried out with scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transition electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray measurements (EDX). The existence of spherical shape Ag nanoparticles in TiO2 with an average particle size of 35 nm was confirmed by EDX analysis. The estimated average size of the TiO2 and CdS particles appears to be around 40 nm and 4.2 nm respectively.
Nitrogen-doped (N-doped) TiO 2 nanocrystals were synthesized by adopting a wet chemical method, in which titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) was hydrolyzed with aqueous ammonia under a continuous flow of nitrogen gas. Triple layer photoanode, consisting of TiO 2 P90, TiO 2 P25 and N-doped TiO 2 nanomaterials, was developed by utilizing the spin coating and doctor blading techniques and subjecting to thermal treatment. Photoanodes were sensitized with CdS quantum dots by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method. Quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) were fabricated by assembling photoanodes with Pt counter electrode and polysulfide electrolyte. Material characterizations for N-doped TiO 2 were conducted by TEM, XRD, UV-Visible spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky techniques. Fabricated QDSSCs were evaluated by incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) spectroscopy, current-voltage (J-V) characteristics and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) measurements. QDSSCs with N-doped TiO 2 achieved an overall power conversion efficiency of 1.35 % while QDSSCs with TiO 2 P25 showed only 1.04 %. Overall power conversion efficiency enhancement of 29.81 % was achieved by incorporating N-doped TiO 2 in the triple-layer photoanode, which Is attributed to increased photocurrent generation in the photoanode. Enhanced IPCE and reduced charge transfer resistance at the photoanode/ electrolyte interface (R 2 ct) agree with improved photoactivity of the triple-layer photoanode incorporated with N-doped TiO 2 .
Compact layer incorporation has improved the solar cell performance by 250%.• The compact layer facilitates charge extraction and reduces carrier recombination.• The photoanode with compact layer displays a longer lifetime (τ).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.