Gold nanoparticles as an ultrathin scattering layer for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles of various sizes have been prepared and deposited on top of the TiO₂ film in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in order to enhance the light harvesting efficiency. The light scattering effect gradually strengthens as the size of Au nanoparticles increases from 48 to 203 nm. It is impressive that 1 μg cm⁻² deposition of 203 nm gold nanoparticles on top of the TiO₂ film enhances the light scattering efficiency remarkably, increasing the short-circuit photocurrent from 14.37 mA cm⁻² to 17.81 mA cm⁻² by 24% and the power conversion efficiency from 7.44% to 10.03% by 35%.