Issue 15, 2012

Power conversion efficiency enhancement based on the bio-inspired hierarchical antireflection layer in dye sensitized solar cells

Abstract

We have investigated the effects of the introduction of an antireflection layer consisting of a hierarchically patterned diffraction grating into a conventional TiO2 working electrode on the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a DSSC. High index-contrast TiO2 nanowires (NWs) were grown in the circular holes of the two-dimensional diffraction grating prepared through the use of a polymer template fabricated via interference lithography (IL) for maximized photon trapping effects in the visible region of light. The larger scale dimension of the polymer template was determined using the beam parameters of the IL and the smaller scale dimension in the structures was controlled by the growth conditions of the TiO2 NWs. Compared with a conventional DSSC, the hybrid nanostructure with an additional antireflection layer demonstrated higher and wider absorption bands of wavelength spectra, leading to an increased PCE due to enhanced light trapping effects achieved by the combination of antireflection and diffraction of the light on the front surface of the devices with minimum loss in the surface area of the hierarchical structure. The excellent performance of the optimized hybrid nanostructure indicates that the nanophotonic effects have strong potential for solar energy conversion, photocatalyst, and photoelectrode applications.

Graphical abstract: Power conversion efficiency enhancement based on the bio-inspired hierarchical antireflection layer in dye sensitized solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
18 May 2012
Accepted
31 May 2012
First published
13 Jun 2012

Nanoscale, 2012,4, 4464-4469

Power conversion efficiency enhancement based on the bio-inspired hierarchical antireflection layer in dye sensitized solar cells

H. Ahn, S. Kim, J. Yoon, J. Lee and J. Jang, Nanoscale, 2012, 4, 4464 DOI: 10.1039/C2NR31214J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements