Optimization of Metal Nanoparticles Concentration into Dye Solution to Enhance Performance of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Setiya Rahayu, Amaldeus Tani Dosi, Priastuti Wulandari*

Physics of Magnetism and Photonics Research Division, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10 Bandung 40132, West Java, Indonesia

*wulan[at]fi.itb.ac.id

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) offer a promising alternative to the silicon-based solar cells due to their potential advantages, such as low-cost materials, non-vacuum fabrication process and hence being considered as an environmentally friendly technology. Following the first report by O^Regan and Gratzel in 1991, many researchers have investigated the crucial processes in DSSC characteristics, such as the photon absorption of the dye molecules that are commonly impregnated into a TiO2 mesoporous electrode. In recent years, it has been considered the use of metal nanoparticles into the structure of solar cells device to increase light adsorption since there is excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) on the nanoparticle surface.
In this study, we incorporate gold or silver nanoparticles into dye solution in order to enhance the light absorption in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) device. We also compare the performance of DSSCs incorporated AuNP and AgNP with various capping organic molecules on nanoparticles. Each of metal NPs was mixed with N-719 dye solution and we optimized the metal NPs used into the dye solution. The characterizations of the mixture solution were done by use of UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopies while the morphology of the solution was captured by TEM imaging. The performance of DSSCs were done by J-V measurement with solar simulator 100mW of power. Our fabricated DSSC devices show the enhancement of current density and power conversion efficiency (PCE) when metal NPs added into dye layer. Addition of gold nanoparticle capped by oleylamine (AuOA) 6.227 wt% reveals the enhancement of PCE devices from 1.58% without AuOA to 2.60% with AuOA. Similar case for addition AuDT and AgSC8 into dye layer of DSSC show the same tendencies.

Keywords: Dye sensitized solar cells, gold dan silver nanoparticles, LSPR, J-V characteristics

Topic: Magnetism and Photonics