A study on the effect of metal nanostructures on the efficiency of solar panels and an analysis of related issues

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices are often the electrical building blocks of photovoltaic modules, known colloquially as solar panels. The common single junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of approximately ۰.۵ volts to ۰.۶ volts. In the present investigation, the power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells has been remarkably increased by incorporation of green synthesized silver nanoparticles into TiO۲ photoanodes. Uniform silver nanoparticles were developed by treating silver ions with Peltophorum pterocarpum flower extract at room temperature. The obtained silver nanoparticles have been characterized by UV-vis. spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction analysis and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the obtained silver nanoparticles were polycrystalline in nature with face centered cubic lattice. Silver nanoparticles, with an approximate size in the range of ۲۰–۵۰ nm were examined by the TEM. The plasmonic nanocomposite material was prepared by mixing different green synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag content of ۱, ۲ and ۳ wt%) with P۲۵single bondTiO۲ nanoparticles and used as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. Due to the plasmonic effect of the modified electrode, the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell was improved from ۲.۸۳% to ۳.۶۲% with increment around ۲۸% after incorporation of the ۲ wt% of the silver nanoparticles. Maximum increases in open-circuit voltage (up to ۱۲.۱%) and in short-circuit current density (up to ۱۰.۷%) were observed.

Keywords:

Silver nanoparticles , Green synthesis , Plasmonic effect , Dye-sensitized solar cells