Plasmonic Enhancement of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Core–Shell–Shell Nanostructures

Abstract

We report the synthesis of core–shell–shell Au@SiO2@TiO2 nanostructures and demonstrate near-field plasmonic enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) incorporating them. Isolated nanoparticles as well as nanostructured plasmonic aggregates with broadband light absorption throughout the visible light region are developed. Comparisons to theoretical calculations are performed for the nanoparticles to provide further insight into their structure. We show that Au@SiO2@TiO2 nanoparticles provide efficiency enhancements greater than that of Au@SiO2 plasmonic nanoparticles and vary the distance between the molecular chromophore and the gold NP surface to demonstrate that this arises from near-field plasmonic effects. Finally, enhancement of dye absorption in DSSCs using a coupled plasmonic system is shown for the first time and results in a broadband enhancement of quantum efficiency.