Tunable surface plasmons of dielectric core-metal shell particles for dye sensitized solar cells

Our findings show that the extinction spectrum of core–shell type plasmonic particles can be effectively controlled by changing their geometric factor. This tuning capability allows the surface plasmons of the core–shell particles to be designed in such a way that the absorption of dye molecules is maximized in dye sensitized solar cells. When plasmonic particles with a metallic nanoshell and a dielectric core are incorporated into a TiO2 mesoporous photoelectrode, the optical cross section of dye sensitizers and the energy conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are increased. The enhanced photon–electron conversion is attributed to localized surface plasmons of the core–shell particles, which increase the absorption and scattering of incoming light in the photoelectrode.