Abstract
An auspicious way to enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of third generation sensitized solar cells is to improve the light harvesting ability of TiO(2) sensitizer and inhibition of back recombination reactions. In the present work, we have simultaneously comprehended both the factors using stable bimetallic Au and Ag metal nanoparticles (Mnps) embedded in TiO(2) with ion implantation technique at lower fluence range; and explored them in third generation dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The best performing Au-Ag implanted DSSC (Fluence- 6 × 10(15) ions cm(-2)) revealed 87.97% enhancement in its PCE relative to unimplanted DSSC; due to plasmon induced optical and electrical effects of Mnps. Here, optimized bimetallic Au-Ag Mnps embedded in TiO(2) improves light harvesting of N719 dye; due to the well matched localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption band of Au and Ag with low and high energy absorption bands of N719 dye molecules, respectively. Furthermore, Au and Ag acts as charge separation centers in TiO(2) that inhibit the recombination reactions occurring at photoanode/electrolyte interface via prolonging photo-generated electron lifetime; resulting in efficient inter-facial charge transportation in DSSCs.