Abstract The current research work demonstrates the modification of both functional electrodes of a plasmonic dye-sensitized solar cell (PDSSC) to fabricate a low-cost and efficient solar device. The copper-doped titania (Cu/TiO2) nanocomposite and hybrid magnetite nanoparticles decorated reduce graphene oxide (rGO/Fe3O4) nanocomposite were produced by a facile single step wet synthesis approach by utilizing non-toxic and cost-efficacious precursors. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were comprehensively analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and UV–Vis spectroscopic techniques to evidently confirm the formation of Cu/TiO2 and hybrid rGO/Fe3O4 nanocomposites successfully. The photovoltaic parameters of the PDSSCs were investigated by measuring J-V characteristics and IPCE spectra. The Cu/TiO2 nanocomposite based photoanode demonstrated power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.89% with platinum (Pt) and 2.20% with hybrid rGO/Fe3O4 counter electrodes (CEs) respectively in PDSSCs. The hybrid rGO/Fe3O4 CE based PDSSC approached to 57% of the efficiency of the traditional platinum electrode with Cu/TiO2 and 70% with that of pristine TiO2 based photoanodes. The reasonable enhancement in efficiency might be ascribed to uniform dispersion of catalytic Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of rGO nanosheets and due to plasmonic effect of Cu nanoparticles. The results suggested that the synergistic combination of modified functional electrodes in plasmonic DSSCs exhibited a reasonable efficiency and thus could prove to be as an effective substituent of traditional and expensive Pt.

中文翻译：

---

用于优化等离子体染料敏化太阳能电池的基于 Cu/TiO2 的光阳极和基于 rGO-Fe3O4 的对电极的战略设计

摘要 目前的研究工作证明了对等离子体染料敏化太阳能电池 (PDSSC) 的两个功能电极的修改，以制造低成本和高效的太阳能设备。铜掺杂二氧化钛 (Cu/TiO2) 纳米复合材料和装饰还原氧化石墨烯 (rGO/Fe3O4) 纳米复合材料的混合磁铁矿纳米复合材料是通过简单的一步湿法合成方法生产的，利用无毒且具有成本效益的前体。通过使用扫描电子显微镜、能量色散 X 射线光谱、X 射线衍射、热重分析和紫外-可见光谱技术对合成的纳米复合材料进行了综合分析，以明显地证实 Cu/TiO2 和杂化 rGO/Fe3O4 纳米复合材料的形成. 通过测量 JV 特性和 IPCE 光谱来研究 PDSSC 的光伏参数。基于 Cu/TiO2 纳米复合材料的光电阳极在 PDSSC 中使用铂 (Pt) 和混合 rGO/Fe3O4 对电极 (CE) 的功率转换效率 (PCE) 分别为 3.89% 和 2.20%。基于混合 rGO/Fe3O4 CE 的 PDSSC 接近使用 Cu/TiO2 的传统铂电极的效率的 57%，接近基于原始 TiO2 的光阳极效率的 70%。效率的合理提高可能归因于催化性 Fe3O4 纳米粒子在 rGO 纳米片表面上的均匀分散以及 Cu 纳米粒子的等离子体效应。