Sarah Siegler
Sarah Smith
Tunable Localized Surface Plasmon-Enabled Broadband Light- Harvesting Enhancement
for High-Efficiency Panchromatic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells1
Panchromatic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are developed with the purpose of
enhancing the light harvesting efficiency of solar cells. Several attempts have been made to
develop panchromatic DSSCs, including approaches involving panchromatic dyes and energy
transfer systems.1 Panchromatic dyes contain thin layers of plasmonic nanoparticles that
increase the light absorbance efficiency in DSSCs. Panchromatic dyes are desirable in DSSCs
because they allow the solar cells to absorb light at higher wavelengths. A common DSSC dye is
N719. N719 is not a panchromatic dye because it has only low light harvesting capacity in the
region above 600 nm (Scheme 1). These nanoparticles are layers of metal oxides (Scheme 2)
that are developed and investigated by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD).Error!
Bookmark not defined. The multiple core-shell nanoparticles are made under high
temperatures to adjust the thickness of the TiO2 and gold layers.
Plasmonic nanoparticles in conjunction with N719 afford a more panchromatic dye
sensitizer system because the light harvesting at higher wavelengths is improved (Figure 1).1
The best plasmonic nanoparticles are made from TiO2 and gold (TAuT). TAuT-700 provides the
best light harvesting enhancement because they increases the light harvesting in low wavelengths
to create a balancing effect with the higher wavelengths (Figure 2).1 The power conversion
efficiency is enhanced by the distribution of core and shell sizes for TAuT nanoparticles help
broaden the absorption spectra and enhancement of light harvesting.1 This technique can be
applied to other solar cells and photoabsorbers.
(1) Dang, X.; Qi, J.; Klug, M. T.; Chen, P. Y.; Yun, D. S.; Fang, N. X.; Hammond, P. T.;
Belcher, A. M. Tunable Localized Surface Plasmon-Enabled Broadband Light-Harvesting
Enhancement for High-Efficiency Panchromatic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. (dx.doi.org/
10.1021/nl3043823) Nano Lett. 2013, 13, xxx−xxx.
1
Sarah Siegler
Sarah Smith
Scheme 1. Structure of Dye N719
2
Sarah Siegler
Sarah Smith
Scheme 2. Structure of Plasmonic Nanoparticle TAuT-700
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Sarah Siegler
Sarah Smith
Figure 1. Simulation of N719 Absorption Spectrum
Gaussian Functions for N719
9
Extinction coefficient (M-1 cm-1)
8
Function 1
7
6
Function 2
5
4
Function 3
3
2
Sum of
Gaussian
Functions
1
0
-1
350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750
Wavelength (nm)
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ∗
Function 1
x = wavelength
height = 5.25
max = 0.011
a = λmax, 390 nm
−(𝑥−𝑎)2
1
1
𝑒 2𝜎2
𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 √2𝜋𝜎 2
Function 2
x = wavelength
height = 2.00
max = 0.003
a = 450 nm
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Function 3
x = wavelength
height = 6.25
max = 0.009
a = 530 nm
Sarah Siegler
Sarah Smith
Figure 2. Simulation of Absorption Spectra for AgT, N719, AuT, and TAuT
Nanoparticles
Absorbance (a.u.)
Gaussian Functions for Nanoparticle
Absorbance
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
AgT
N719
AuT
TAuT-590
TAuT-700
TAuT-810
350
450
550
650
750
850
950
1050
Wavelength (nm)
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ∗
−(𝑥−𝑎)2
1
1
𝑒 2𝜎2
𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 √2𝜋𝜎 2
x=wavelength
a=λmax
5