Broadband Plasmonic Enhancement of High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Incorporating Au@Ag@SiO₂ Core–Shell Nanocuboids

Abstract

The introduction of plasmonic additives is a promising approach to boost the efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) since they may improve the light harvesting of a solar cell. Herein, we design broadband and strong plasmonic absorption Au@Ag@SiO2 nanocuboids (GSS NCs) as nanophotonic inclusions to achieve plasmon-enhanced DSSCs. These multiple-resonance absorptions arising from GSS NCs can be readily adjusted by altering their structures to complementarily match the absorption spectra of the dyes, especially in weak absorption zones. By subtly regulating the position of nanophotonic inclusions in the photoanodes, not only the plasmonic near-field enhancement but also far-field light scattering could be adequately developed to promote the light harvest and thus the efficiency of DSSCs. The resulting solar cells yield an average efficiency of 10.34%, with a champion value of 10.58%. The electromagnetic simulations are consistent with the experimental observations, further corroborating the synergistic effect of plasmonic improvement in these DSSCs.

Ag/MgO Nanoparticles via Gas Aggregation Nanocluster Source for Perovskite Solar Cell Engineering

“…Moreover, in Figure 8 , the IPCE spectra of the best-performing cell and of the (0%) reference cell are compared, along with the corresponding integrated current density (J integrated ). The observed enhancement in IPCE takes place in the whole (340–760) nm optical window, in agreement with previous results reported in the literature [ 99 , 100 , 101 ]. This broadband effect has been attributed to different NP-related effects, suggesting that, besides near-field LSPR-enhanced absorption, other mechanisms such as increased far-field scattering, facilitated charge-transfer and separation [ 37 , 102 ] and reduction in the exciton binding energy [ 42 , 48 ] may play a relevant role.…”

Microsphere Photonic Superlens for a Highly Emissive Flexible Upconversion-Nanoparticle-Embedded Film

“…Generally, there are three main pathways to strengthen the multiphoton upconversion processes: (i) nanoparticle engineering, (ii) metallic plasmonic enhancement, and (iii) dielectric photonic mediation. The purpose of nanoparticle engineering is to boost the absorption cross section and radiative emission rates by codoping of Li + , Eu 2+ , Bi 3+ , Fe 3+ , and Sc 3+ , surface passivation shelling, − energy transfer modulation, and broadband dye sensitization. − The metallic enhancement stems from localized surface plasmon resonances on metallic nanostructures, where excitation light is confined in an ultrasmall mode volume for high photon density of states achieving a large absorption cross section. The electric field intensity in the vicinity of plasmonic nanostructures can be enhanced by over 10 2 -fold, leading to an enhancement ratio up to 10 2 n (where n is the number of photons involved in the upconversion process) .…”

Enhanced Absorption Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell with Composite Materials and Bilayer Structure of Nanorods and Nanospheres

“…However, to the best of our knowledge, no research on photovoltaic performance studies on photoanodes based on bilayer structures with plasmonic composite materials of various morphologies for DSSCs has been published. Plasmonic metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been shown to significantly improve the light-harvesting efficiency of DSSCs [21,22]. Aluminum is utilized to cover the cores of plasmonic materials with a thin semiconductor oxide layer [23,24].…”