Effect of silver nanoparticle size on efficiency enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Titanium dioxide/silver (TiO2/Ag) composite films were prepared by incorporating Ag in pores of mesoporous TiO2 films using a photoreduction method. The Ag nanoparticle sizes were in a range of 4.36-38.56nm. The TiO 2/Ag composite films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TiO2 and TiO2/Ag composite films were then sensitized by immersing in a 0.3mM N719 dye solution and fabricated for conventional dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). J-V characteristics of the TiO2/Ag DSCs showed that the Ag nanoparticle size of 19.16nm resulted in the short circuit current density and efficiency of 8.12mA/cm2 and 4.76. © 2011 Chanu Photiphitak et al.