Gold nanoparticle decorated carbon nanotube nanocomposite for dye-sensitized solar cell performance and stability enhancement

Improving the conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) requires enhancing the photogeneration of charge carriers as well as facilitating their transport to electrodes before charge recombination or quenching can occur. Here we describe a simple, fast and large-area scalable procedure for the preparation of a nanocomposite made of functional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to improve the performance of DSSCs. We fabricated AuNP/MWCNT inlaid mesoporous TiO2 films as photoanodes in DSSCs, to improve crucial factors including light absorption, charge-carrier generation, collection and transport. By using a AuNP/MWCNT nanocomposite directly inlaid in TiO2 as the working electrode, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.61% and short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc) of 12.26 mA cm-2 were obtained, representing an enhancement of -31% in PCE and -19% in Jsc compared to a control cell based on TiO2 alone. In addition, DSSCs based on the TiO2/AuNP/MWCNT photoanode remained remarkably stable compared with the control device, retaining 92% of the initial PCE value after ten days of continuous illumination.

Automated summary

The study presents a method to enhance the performance of DSSCs by preparing a nanocomposite of functional gold nanoparticles and multiwall carbon nanotubes, which are embedded in mesoporous TiO2 films as photoanodes. The use of this nanocomposite resulted in a significant improvement in power conversion efficiency and short-circuit photocurrent density compared to control cells based on TiO2 alone. Additionally, DSSCs utilizing the TiO2/AuNP/MWCNT photoanode exhibited remarkable stability, retaining 92% of the initial power conversion efficiency value after continuous illumination for ten days.