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Next-generation Cost- Effective Photovoltaic Cell with Tailored Structural and Optical Properties of Silicon nanowires with Silver Nanoparticle Deposition

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Abstract

Metallic nanoparticles deposited semiconductor nanowires, a kind of heterostructures, show a remarkable property to strengthen optical and optoelectrical characteristics due to the coupling of surface plasmon with nanowires. The Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are synthesized with metal-assisted chemical etching with different etching duration. Then silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are deposited by the electroless deposition method over SiNWs, by maintaining the optimum deposition parameter. Here, the nanowire structures provided the flexibility to incorporate multiple metallic nanoparticles in a single system, which could have multiple applications in nanotechnology. Improved light absorption, increased surface area and enhanced charge carrier mobility make this substrate useful for next-generation photovoltaic cells. We experimentally measured the roughness of SiNWs and Ag-deposited SiNWs using atomic force microscopy, crystallite size using X-ray diffraction, optical reflectance by UV–visible spectroscopy, vibration and stretching of bonds by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and modified bandgap by photoluminescence spectroscopy. Our studies show that the change in the behaviour of SiNWs with deposition of AgNPs exhibits multifunctional properties, which can be of great significance in the field of nanowire solar cells, nanoelectronic devices, biological sensors, thermoelectric generators and high-efficiency photovoltaic cell.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks for the strong support from the Nanoscale Research Facility and Central Research Facility of IIT Delhi for characterization facilities and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research New Delhi (CSIR).

Funding

Savita Rani acknowledges the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research New Delhi grant number (09/086(1343)/2018-EMR-I) for financial support. All the other authors declare that no funds or support were received during this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laser Assisted Material Processing and Raman Spectroscopy Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Savita Rani, Rangeeta Dhaka & A. K. Shukla

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  1. Savita Rani
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  2. Rangeeta Dhaka
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  3. A. K. Shukla
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Contributions

Savita Rani: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing-Original draft preparation, Visualization, Investigation, Validation, Result Analysis, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Rangeeta Dhaka: I-V Result Analysis A.K. Shukla: Supervision, Reviewing and Editing.

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Correspondence to Savita Rani.

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Rani, S., Dhaka, R. & Shukla, A.K. Next-generation Cost- Effective Photovoltaic Cell with Tailored Structural and Optical Properties of Silicon nanowires with Silver Nanoparticle Deposition. Silicon 15, 7489–7497 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-023-02601-5

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