Surface plasmon resonance effect of Cu nanoparticles in a dye sensitized solar cell

Pure and copper doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) photo anodes with different doping amounts of copper (Cu) 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mole% are synthesized using modified sol-gel route. Addition of Cu in TiO2 matrix can enhance absorption towards visible spectrum and can reduce the charge carrier recombination due to Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). The samples are characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), UV-vis spectroscopy (UV-VIS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Electro Chemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The crystallite size is measured by XRD and surface morphology of the samples is analyzed using SEM. UV-vis measurement shows that the influence of Cu in TiO2 lattice altered its optical properties and extended absorption in the visible region. The resistances between different junctions of the cell are measured by EIS. The J-V measurement of the cell prepared using pure and Cu-doped TiO2 NPs is carried out by solar simulator. The optimized Cu doped DSSC with 0.3 mole% Cu in TiO2 shows the best power conversion efficiency of 8.65% which is approximately 26% greater than the efficiency of undoped DSSC (6.41%). (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of a dye sensitized solar cell with Cu/N Co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles

Pure and Copper/Nitrogen (Cu/N)-codoped TiO2 photoanodes with various Cu concentrations are prepared via sol-gel route for the photoanode application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). All the prepared samples are characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-VIS) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Addition of suitable amount of Cu and N content in TiO2 can alter its optical and electrical properties by extending absorption in the visible region and band gap reduction. The results show that some of the Ti sites are replaced by Cu atoms while O sites are occupied by N atoms. Upon adequate addition of Cu/N could lead to smaller particle size, higher specific surface area, increased dye adsorption and retarded charge carrier recombination. A significant improvement in the power conversion efficiency is observed in case of optimized 0.3 mol% Cu/N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) based DSSC. This optimized 0.3 mol% Cu/N-doped photoanode accomplished a best power conversion efficiency of 11.70% with a short circuit current density of 23.41 mA cm(-2) which is 41% higher than that of the pure TiO2 photoanode based DSSC (6.82%)