Efficiency variation in gel electrolyte DSSCs containing gold nanoparticles of different size

Maurizio Furlani^a, Bengt-Erik Mellander^a, Saeed Ahmad^a, Erik A. Anvell^a, Daniele Franchi^a^,^d^,^e, T.M.W.J. Bandara^b, Chiara Busà^c, Ingvar Albinsson^f

^aChalmers University of Technology, Sweden, Fysikgränd, 3, Gothenburg, Sweden

^bDepartment of Physical Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

^cSchool of Chemical Engineering University of Birmingham , United Kingdom

^dDipartimento di Chimica “Ugo Schiff” Università degli Studi di Firenze,, Sesto Fiorentino

^eIstituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (CNR-ICCOM), Sesto Fiorentino

^fDepartment of Physics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics 2015 (HOPV15)

Roma, Italy, 2015 May 11th - 13th

Organizer: Filippo De Angelis

Poster, Maurizio Furlani, 250
Publication date: 5th February 2015

The addition of metal nanoparticles in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can improve the efficiency of solar energy harvesting which is generally attributed to the surface resonant plasmonic effect. The conditions to observe the phenomenon have been outlined by several authors, see for example [1], but the detailed mechanism of action is to our knowledge not fully explained. In this work gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of size 5, 10 and 40 nm were incorporated in mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO₂ using a series of dyes as sensitizers: the inorganic Ruthenizer 455-PF6, Ruthenizer 620-1H3TBA, and the organic Sensidizer SQ2 (figure 1). The cells fabricated in this way were tested and characterized with I-V curves under variable illumination intensity (up to1 sun) and gave a characteristic pattern of efficiency change with respect to the content of GNPs. A blank test without dye has shown negative effect due to the GNPs on the cell efficiency. A decrease in efficiency after an initial increase has also been observed when the particles load exceeds a certain limit. This suggests a charge accumulation effect in systems with low electron transfer rate and a recombination effect at higher GNP concentration. Different photoactive layer thickness and deposition techniques allowed to study both the efficiency enhancement (>10% compared to the non-enriched layer) and the sensitivity to the particle concentration. The different ionic nature of the dyes deeply influenced the effect of GNPs (figure 2) which may be explained through a direct chemical influence between the gold nanoparticles and the dye. The quasi-solid gel electrolyte Hex₄NI in PAN/EC/PC [3] chosen for the study gave a mechanically and chemically stable cell and a relatively high V_OC
Figure 1 a): Absorption of; Ruthenizer 455-PF6, Ruthenizer 620-1H3TBA , Sensidizer SQ2, and colloidal gold nanoparticle sized 10 nm. The dyes are 0.015 mM in ethanol . The gold nanoparticles are dispersed in water in concentration 9.47 e-9 M. b): Normalized (to Au=0) efficiency as function of Au surface area/TiO2 mass for 10 nm sized particles DSSC cells, under 1 sun irradiance.
[1] Chander, N.; Khan, A.F].; Thouti, E.; Sardana, S.K.; Chandrasekhar, P.S.; Dutta, V.; Komarala, V.K. Size and concentration effects of gold nanoparticles on optical and electrical properties of plasmonic dye sensitizedsolar cells. Solar Energy, NOV 2014, 109, 11-23. [2]Bandara, T.M.W.J.; Jayasundara, W.J.M.J.R.; Dissanayake, M.A.K.L; Furlani, M.; Albinsson, I.; Mellander, B.-E. Effect of cation size on the performance of dye sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells based on quasi-solid state PAN electrolytes containing quaternary ammonium iodides. Electrochimica Acta 2013, 109:609-616. nanoparticles are dispersed in water in concentration 9.47 e-9 M. b): Normalized (to Au=0) efficiency as function of Au surface area/TiO2 mass for 10 nm sized particles DSSC cells, under 1 sun irradiance.

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