Plasmonic enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells by using Au-decorated Ag dendrites as a morphology-engineered

In this study, Cu and Ag dendrites, as well as Ag dendrite decorated with gold nanoparticles (NPs) are designed for improving the efficiency of plasminic TiO2 dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The main challenge in plasmonic DSSCs is adjusting the plasmonic peak at suitable position. Herein, it is shown that how an engineered structure can enhance the efficiency of DSSC by an intense plasmonic effect in extended wavelength range. This is addressed by engineering plasmonic peak of noble metal through controlling their morphology. Moreover, the importance of the protection of the morphology-controlled nobel metal additive by Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer against corrosive electrolyte is shown. PVP-capped Ag dendrites, PVP-capped Cu dendrites and PVP-capped Ag dendrites decorated by gold NPs are prepared and are applied in dye sensitized solar cells. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.