Photocurrent Enhancement by Surface Plasmon Resonance of Silver Nanoparticles in Highly Porous Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) by silver nanoparticles that are photochemically incorporated into an electrode-supported TiO2 nanoparticulate framework enhances the extinction of a subsequently adsorbed dye (the ruthenium-containing molecule, N719). The enhancement arises from both an increase in the dye's effective absorption cross section and a modest increase in the framework surface area. Deployment of the silver-modified assembly as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells leads to light-to-electrical energy conversion with an overall efficiency of 8.9%. This represents a 25% improvement over the performance of otherwise identical solar cells lacking corrosion-protected silver nanoparticles. As one would expect based on increased dye loading and electromagnetic field enhanced (LSPR-enhanced) absorption, the improvement is manifested chiefly as an increase in photocurrent density ascribable to improved light harvesting.