Green synthesis of Ag and the effect of Ag on the efficiency of TiO2 based dye sensitized solar cell

Abstract

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was carried out using the aqueous extract of Carcia papaya (commonly known as papaya) leaves as reducing and capping agent. The synthesized AgNPs colloid was mixed with titanium dioxide slurry to produce Ag:TiO₂ nanocomposite. The as-synthesized AgNPs and Ag:TiO₂ nanocomposite were characterized for structural, optical and morphological studies. Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated with pure TiO₂ and Ag:TiO₂ nanocomposite photoanodes using N719 dye and their performance was investigated. The power conversion efficiency of Ag:TiO₂ nanocomposite DSSC is increased by about 33.5% when compared to the efficiency of the pure TiO₂ DSSC. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopic measurements showed that Ag:TiO₂ nanocomposite film effectively reduce the charge transfer resistance and also increased the lifetime of the electron.