Enhanced efficiency of plasmonic dye-sensitized solar cell fabricated by a Au-TiO2 powder

Abstract

Localized surface plasmon resonance is the electron oscillation in spatially confined small metallic nanoparticle coupled to an external electromagnetic field and has been experimentally and theoretically demonstrated to enhance light absorption; thus, enable efficient light harvesting in the vicinity of the metal nanoparticles. Mesoporous Au-TiO2 thin film was applied to dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) where mesoporous TiO2 thin film are generally utilized in order to realize plasmonic solar cells. In order to investigate the effect of gold nanoparticles on DSSC various Au-TiO2 films were applied instead of TiO2, and those optical properties and solar cell performances were compared. We have demonstrated the promoting effect of gold nanoparticles toward the enhanced of the solar cell performance.