Performance optimization of dye-sensitized solar cells by gradient-ascent architecture of SiO2@Au@TiO2 microspheres embedded with Au nanoparticles

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2018.09.030

Abstract

Abstract:

Highly homogeneous, well dispersed SiO₂@Au@TiO₂ (SAT) microspheres decorated with Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared and incorporated into the photoanode with an optimized concentration gradient-ascent. The effects of SAT microspheres and the gradient-ascent architecture on the light absorption and the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were investigated. Studies indicate that the introduction of SAT microspheres and the gradient-ascent architecture in the photoanode significantly enhance the light scattering and harvesting capability of the photoanode. The DSSC with the optimized SAT gradient-ascent photoanode has the maximum short circuit current density (J_sc) of 17.7 mA cm^-2 and PCE of 7.75%, remarkably higher than those of the conventional DSSC by 23.7% and 28.0%, respectively. This significantly enhancement of the performance of the DSSC can be attributed to the excellent light reflection/scattering of SAT, the localized surface plasma resonance (LSPR) effect of AuNPs within the microspheres, and the gradient-ascent architecture of SAT microspheres inside the photoanode. This study demonstrates that the tri-synergies of the scattering of SAT microspheres, the LSPR of AuNPs and the gradient-ascent architecture can effectively improve the PCE of DSSC.

Key words: SiO₂@Au@TiO₂ microspheres, Au nanoparticles, Localized surface plasmon resonance, Gradient-ascent architecture scattering, Dye-sensitized solar cells

Mingyue Li, Na Yuan, Yiwen Tang, Ling Pei, Yongdan Zhu, Jiaxian Liu, Lihua Bai, Meiya Li. Performance optimization of dye-sensitized solar cells by gradient-ascent architecture of SiO₂@Au@TiO₂ microspheres embedded with Au nanoparticles[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2019, 35(4): 604-609.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of fabrication procedures of SAT microspheres (TEOS: tetraethylorthosilicate).

Fig. 2. Schematic diagrams of photoanodes with different SAT multilayer architectures: (a) TiO2 only; (b) USAT; (c) GSAT.

Fig. 3. (a) SEM image of SiO2 spheres, (b) TEM image of SiO2@Au, (c) SEM image of SAT (TEM inset) and (d) EDS analysis of SAT.

Fig. 4. (a) UV-vis absorption spectra, (b) diffused reflection spectra, (c) transmission spectra of sensitized photoanodes, and (d) absorption spectra of N719 dye desorbed from sensitized films in 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH solution.

Table 1 Performance parameters of DSSCs with different SAT contents (FF: filling factor).

DSSC based on	J_sc (mA cm^-2)	V_oc (mV)	FF	PCE (%)	Dye adsorption (×10^-7 mol cm^-2)
TiO₂	14.3	692	0.61	6.04	1.86
USAT	17.0	703	0.60	7.13	1.66
GSAT	17.7	700	0.62	7.75	1.81

Fig. 5. J-V curves (a) and Jsc and PCE (b) of DSSCs with different composite photoanodes.

Fig. 6. IPCE (a), open circuit voltage (b), dark current density Jd (the inset is Jd at 680 mV) (c), and EIS spectra (d) of DSSCs with different photoanodes (Z’: real part of impedance; Z’’: imaginary part of impedance; CPE1 and CPE2: constant phase element; R1, R2 and R3: resistance).

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Performance optimization of dye-sensitized solar cells by gradient-ascent architecture of SiO₂@Au@TiO₂ microspheres embedded with Au nanoparticles

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