SYNERGISTIC EFFECT OF SURFACE PLASMON RESONANCE AND CONSTRUCTED THREE-DIMENSIONAL INTERWOVEN STRUCTURED TiO₂ PHOTOANODE FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Abstract

We demonstrate a strategy for incorporating plasmon resonant metallic nanoparticles in the construction of the three-dimensional (3D) interwoven structured TiO 2 photoanodes. The 3D interwoven structure contained continuous TiO 2 skeleton and numerous interconnected macro/ mesopores, which supplied e®ective straight path for electron transfer and high speci¯c surface area for dye load. Localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was produced by the addition of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which increased the light absorption of the photoanodes more e®ectively. The synergistic e®ect of SPR with constructed TiO 2 nanostructures has been investigated, and was con¯rmed by¯eld-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), highresolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis absorption spectra, J-V characteristics, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. It was found that the range and strength of light absorption of TiO 2 photoanodes, the photon capture ability of the dye molecules, the photoelectric conversion e±-ciency were signi¯cantly increased while the electron transfer resistance decreased due to the incorporation of AuNPs compared to the P25 and Au-free photoanode. The related photoelectric performance enhancement mechanisms, and surface-plasmon resonances in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with Au nanostructures were analyzed and discussed.