title: Coupled near- and far-field scattering in silver nanoparticles for high-efficiency, stable, and thin plasmonic dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: Here, we report plasmonically enhanced thin dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in an imidazolium-dicyanamide based ionic liquid, in which size-controlled metal (silver) nanoparticles (AgNPs) with passivation layers of a few nanometers are arranged into the electrolyte and photo-electrodes. It was revealed that the AgNPs in the electrolyte and the photo-electrode have distinct effects on device performance via different coupling mechanisms. Strong far-field scattering is critical in the electrolyte while near-field scattering is efficient in the photo-electrode. Indeed, we find that the power conversion efficiency of the DSSC can be substantially improved by a synergistic arrangement of the AgNPs in the electrolyte and the photo-electrode. Furthermore, an imidazolium-dicyanamide based nonvolatile ionic liquid electrolyte for MNPs is demonstrated to provide thin plasmonic DSSCs with good stability.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea).
authors.forename: Gede Widia Pratama
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Adhyaksa
authors.forename: Se-Woong
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Ga In
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dong Ki
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jung-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jeung Ku
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D052578:Ionic Liquids; D012834:Silver
keywords: dye-sensitized solar cells; nanoparticles; scattering; silver; surface plasmon resonance