Optics and Photonics Society of Iran

In this paper, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized in different solutions (e.g. water and glycerol) and applied in an FTO/TiO2/CdS/Ag photoanode structure in quantum dot-sensitized solar cells. The successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method (SILAR) was used for deposition of CdS quantum dots on the TiO2 films. Then, thin layers of Ag NPs were coated by the spin-coating method. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of about 1.88% was achieved for the FTO/TiO2/CdS/Ag NPs /Polysulfid/CoS cell structure, where Ag NPs were synthesized in a water solution. This PCE was about 88% higher than that of the FTO/TiO2/CdS/Polysulfid/CoS, or the reference cell, structure (i.e.1.00%). Colloidal liquid of Ag NPs with no glycerol (100% water) contains larger Ag NPs but has the smallest particle size in 100% vol glycerol. An enhancement was observed in the current density and the cell efficiency of solar cell samples equipped with larger-size Ag NPs. It seems an increase in the absorption of light due to scattering by lager size Ag NPs, results in improved cell performance.