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Enhancing photocurrent performance based on photoanode thickness and surface plasmon resonance using Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites in dye-sensitized solar cells


Citation

Lokman, Muhammad Quisar and Shafie, Suhaidi and Shaban, Suraya and Ahmad, Fauzan and Jaafar, Haslina and Mohd Rosnan, Rizuan and Yahaya, Hafizal and Abdullah, Shahrum Shah (2019) Enhancing photocurrent performance based on photoanode thickness and surface plasmon resonance using Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites in dye-sensitized solar cells. Materials, 12 (13). art. no. 2111. pp. 1-14. ISSN 1996-1944

Abstract

This study investigated the different thicknesses of TiO2 photoanode films and the effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites on the current-voltage (I–V) performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The TiO2 layer was deposited using the doctor blade technique and the thickness of the TiO2 films was controlled by using a different number of Scotch tape layers. The silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were synthesised using a chemical reduction method and the concentration of sodium citrate as a reducing agent was varied from 4 to 12 mM to study the effect of citrate ion on the size of the nanoparticles. Ag-TiO2 nanopowder was prepared by adding pure anatase TiO2 powder into AgNP colloidal solution. The mixture was left to dry for 24 h to obtain Ag-TiO2 powder for paste preparation. The three-layer Scotch tape, with thickness of 14.38 µm, achieved a high efficiency of 4.14%. This results showed that three layers was the optimal thickness to improve dye loading and to reduce the charge recombination rate. As for the Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites, 10 mM of AgNP, with a mean diameter of 65.23 nm and high efficiency of 6.92%, proved that SPR can enhance the absorption capability of dye and improve the photon-to-electron generation.


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Official URL or Download Paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/12/13/2111

Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Institute of Advanced Technology
DOI Number: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12132111
Publisher: MDPI
Keywords: Dye-sensitized solar cells; Photoanode thickness; Silver nanoparticles; Surface plasmon resonance; Ag-TiO2
Depositing User: Nabilah Mustapa
Date Deposited: 04 May 2020 16:19
Last Modified: 04 May 2020 16:19
Altmetrics: http://www.altmetric.com/details.php?domain=psasir.upm.edu.my&doi=10.3390/ma12132111
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/38342
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