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Plasmon enfolded TiO2 hierarchical photoanode: fabrication and the performance evaluation as liquid-based dye-sensitized solar cell

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Abstract

Alteration of the optical and photoelectrical properties of the photoanode materials are a prerequisite for improving the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). In this work, Ag-decorated cauliflower-like TiO2 photoanode was fabricated and studied the photovoltaic performance. The hierarchical structured TiO2 with abundant bundles exhibited a novel matrix for Ag deposition by the photoreduction technique. It is significant that the Ag nanoparticles showed a uniform size distribution on hierarchical structured TiO2 nanorods (HNRs). The plasmonic particle enfolded photoanode-based DSSC exhibited an efficiency of 4.15%, which is higher compared to the pristine TiO2 HNR (3.83%). The progress in the efficiency of plasmon particle-based DSSC is crucial, regarding the optical properties, and reduced charge transport resistance observed from the UV visible analysis (UV-Vis) and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School for Advanced Research in Petrochemicals (SARP), CIPET, Bhubaneswar, Patia, 751024, India

    V. S. Manikandan, A. K. Palai, Ananthakumar Ramadoss & Smita Mohanty

  2. Functional Material and Energy Devices, Department of Physics and nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamilnadu, 603203, India

    V. S. Manikandan & M. Navaneethan

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  1. V. S. Manikandan
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  2. A. K. Palai
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  3. Ananthakumar Ramadoss
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  4. Smita Mohanty
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Manikandan, V.S., Palai, A.K., Ramadoss, A. et al. Plasmon enfolded TiO2 hierarchical photoanode: fabrication and the performance evaluation as liquid-based dye-sensitized solar cell. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 8655–8664 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06724-6

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