Improved performance of silicon‐nanoparticle film‐coated dye‐sensitized solar cells |
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| Authors: | Ravindra Kumar Gupta Idriss M Bedja Abdullah Saleh Aldwayyan |
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| Institution: | 1. CRC, Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia;2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia |
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| Abstract: | Silicon (Si) nanoparticles with average size of 13 nm and orange–red luminescence under UV absorption were synthesized using electrochemical etching of silicon wafers. A film of Si nanoparticles with thickness of 0.75 µm to 2.6 µm was coated on the glass (TiO2 side) of a dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The cell exhibited nearly 9% enhancement in power conversion efficiency (η) at film thickness of ～2.4 µm under solar irradiation of 100 mW/cm2 (AM 1.5) with improved fill factor and short‐circuit current density. This study revealed for the first time that the Si‐nanoparticle film converting UV into visible light and helping in homogeneous irradiation, can be utilized for improving the efficiency of the DSSCs. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |
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| Keywords: | dye‐sensitized solar cells silicon nanoparticles frequency conversion anti‐reflection coatings |
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